


(De)Extinction

by tardis



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, F/M, OC-centric, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-05 21:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4195131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tardis/pseuds/tardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cady Starc accepted the new position of Canis Researcher at Jurassic World without a second thought. Wolves? Easy. Prehistoric wolves? Even better. Too bad about the man-eating dinosaurs, she really could have done without those. OC-centric, Owen/OFC slow burn, follows the movie w/ slight canon-divergence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Retrograde

_"There exists a tipping point between gods and monsters."_ – Shitty Horoscopes Book VII: Magick

**July 2013, two-and-a-half years before the Second Isla Nublar Incident**

Twenty-four year-old Cady Starc could feel the sweat rolling down between her shoulder blades, slithering slowly enough that she had to roll her shoulders in a bit of a shutter at the sensation. Under the clear, cloudless Costa Rican sky, the sun beat down unmercifully on her, and even with her Clubmaster sunglasses everything seemed too bright. It was humid and uncomfortable, a dramatic change from the wet Washington state climate she'd left behind a few hours ago. She couldn't find reprieve in the air-condition sections of the ferry either, not with the sections being overcrowded and loud with children and adults alike. Cady would suffer through the heat then sitting for two hours elbow-to-spleen with strangers and trying to control the urge to throttle. The situation wasn't helped with what she'd chosen to wear either: a unique cross between 'interview casual,' and 'poor-graduate student' that left her standing head to foot in black, her long hair pulled back in a slicked ponytail.

Luckily though, the island was close. Closer than it had been twenty minutes ago when Cady had been willing the boat to move faster, as if she'd just teleport her way into the employment office (did they even have an employment office? Somehow she doubted it was like walking into Target). Instead, she was left to bounce on the balls of her feet; hands gripping the railing as the ferry slowly crawled its way into port, and the crews began the docking routine. It was nearly fifteen minutes before she stepped off the ferry and onto the dock, surging forward with the crowd towards the park as Cady looked for the person who was meant to meet her. It only took a quick sweep of the area to find a woman holding a tablet with her name— _CADY STARC_ —looking rather bored, and dressed in a much nicer fashion.

"That's me," Cady called as she all but stumbled to a stop. "I'm Cady Starc."

"Lovely," the woman answered in a soft British accent, sliding the tablet away in a Michael Kors bag. "I'm Zara Young, Miss Dearing's personal assistant. I hope your trip went smoothly?"

The question was rhetorical, and Cady doubted Jurassic World really wanted her to fill out a comment card. Instead she just nodded, hand gripping the strap of her bag anxiously as people all but sprinted past them on the dock towards the man-eating dinosaurs. Awesome.

"Great, then if you'll follow me we'll be on our way."

And with those words, Cady Starc was walking into the belly of the beast.

_God, Dad's gonna to kill me._

**. . .**

They didn't take the monorail like Cady had been expecting. In fact, there were no bells and whistles pulled out for her, instead Zara showed her to a Mercedes coupe and just…drove her. The air conditioning was a godsend, cooling Cady off to the point where she wished she had a jacket. The ride was quick and, apart from Zara pointing out some interesting things, mostly silent, which really was fine with Cady who was still trying to figure out why she had even bothered to come to the island at all. What did she know about dinosaurs except what the Land Before Time taught her at age eight? The answer, of course, was nothing. Dinosaurs, and long extinct creatures, weren't exactly her thing, but her mentor had pressed—no, begged—her to go, so she caved.

Plus, who was she to turn down a fully comped trip?

"As soon as we arrive to Control," Zara explained as she pulled the Mercedes into a well-disguised parking lot. "There are a few legal documents you'll need to read and agree to before meeting with Miss Dearing and Dr. Wu."

Cady's mouth settled into a frown. "Nobody mentioned anything like that."

"They're all very standard," the Briton countered as she parked the coupe and turned off the engine. "We all have had to sign one at some point in time working here to prevent security breeches of intellectual property of Masarni Global and In-Gen Technologies."

"How long have you practiced that answer? It was nearly textbook."

There was beat, a moment of awkward silence then—

"A few days." Zara admitted with a real smile, nothing like what had seen on the dock, as she opened the driver door. "There have been a handful of hopeful new hires; you're not the first with reservations."

"Ya'll sure know how to make a girl feel special," Cady mumbled before climbing out of the car.

By the time she had straightened out her clothes—they were already sticking to her skin, _god it was sweltering_ —and shut the door, Zara was half way across the lot. Forced into nearly a run to catch up, Cady all but slung her bag over her shoulder and booked it. Slightly out of breath and all the more sweaty as Zara unlocked the door with her ID badge, Cady couldn't help but praise any and all mystical god as the air conditioning hit her full force in the face.

"You'd get used to the heat eventually," Zara said as they walked down the hallway.

Cady grimaced. "Considering I come from a place where I see rain more than the sun, I doubt it."

The tone of finality had ended the conversation, and with a good timing considering Cady found herself too busy taking in everything around her as they made their way. There was just so much to look at—Is that an actual egg being incubated?—and even though she didn't understand it, didn't mean she didn't find it interesting. So it was a general disappointment when, after taking a rather impressive spiral staircase and double doors, Cady had been led to a large conference room with a near panoramic view of the park.

_This is the wow-factor, I guess._

"The contracts that need your signature are on the table just here," Zara began, motioning towards a folder on the table. "You'll need to sign them before your meeting with Miss Dearing and Dr. Wu begins…which should be in fifteen minutes. I'll be back to collect them in ten."

And, in the way only personal assistants moved, Zara ghosted out of the room as if she hadn't even been there. It was actually kind of creepy. Huffing a bit in defeat, Cady fell into the seat in front of her and began reading. In a few minutes she could feel the small prickles of a headache growing on her brow, forcing her to pinch her brow. There was a Non-Disclosure Agree, a Mutual Confidentiality Agreement, and Non-Liability Agreement for Loss of Life or Injury—none of the documents left Cady with the insurance that signing them had been the right choice but curiosity did always win.

 _Curiosity killed the cat_ , she mused putting the paper back into their folder. _But satisfaction brought it back._

True to her word, Zara cruised in and out at exactly ten minutes without a word or a glance. She just swooped in, grabbed the legal folder and fountain pen and walked right back out the door. Twisting about in the chair filled a few minutes, but soon enough Cady was pulling out her phone and checking the numerous messages she'd ignored over the last day and a half.

> _**Lieutenant (6/1/13, 09:45:12)** : I heard about the university cutting funding, sorry darlin'._
> 
> _**Mom (6/1/13, 10:13:13)** : I heard from your cousin, I'm so sorry! When will you be coming home?_
> 
> _**Lieutenant (6/2/13, 13:23:56)** : Radio silence isn't going to make it go away. You're making your mother worry, you know how she is when she worries._

Really, their faith in her was inspiring. Sighing, Cady didn't even bother to read the other fifteen messages in her inbox, or listen to the voice mails. Instead, she settled for a quick text message back to quell their worries without giving any specifics.

> _**Mom, Lieutenant (10:16:39)** : Seeing about a job. All good._

Just as she pressed the 'send' button, the door opened and in walked a tall, slender redhead and a well-dressed Asian gentleman in a turtleneck. Quickly Cady slid her phone back into her bag, standing up from her seat to shake the hand of the redhead.

"Claire Dearing, Operations Director," She supplied unnecessarily, taking a seat as soon as Cady released her hand. "Zara just filed your paperwork, so if we can get this meeting going I think we'll all be happier, am I right Dr. Wu?"

"Yes, that sounds about right," he agreed, picking a seat across from Cady. "There's much to discuss."

"…To be honest I still don't understand why I'm here," Cady admitted as she retook her seat. "I don't know anything about dinosaurs, or frankly how a multi-billion dollar company would hear about someone working in the backwoods of Washington state."

At the head of the conference table, Claire stilled.

"Miss Starc, the first thing you need to understand is Marsani Global and Jurassic World do not make mistakes."—Cady couldn't help to think the city of San Diego would disagree—"And we've brought you here for a unique opportunity on the high recommendation of your mentor, Dr. Niehaus, despite the fact that you haven't published any research in nearly two years. Pretend we don't know anything, can you fill us in with what you've been doing since then?"

With both Dr. Wu and Claire staring her down, Cady couldn't help but feel like the question was more of an order than a request.

"My graduate thesis was on the social interaction and hierarchy of the pack, so I lived with the same pack in the middle of nowhere Idaho for three years. After that, I was given a granted position in Washington state raising pups for pack reintroduction, to help rebuild the state's wolf population—"

Dr. Wu interrupted, "In spite of public outcry?"

"Always. Wolves are a commonly misrepresented animal, and historically have been used as a symbol of evil or ill omens," Cady answered growing slightly more comfortable with the subject. She knew wolves, was comfortable with wolves. "Human survival has always distrusted anything else that hunts in a pack, or lives in a highly organized social hierarchy that isn't our own."

"And why do you think that is," Dr. Wu questioned while Claire stayed silent, watching the exchange.

Cady smirked.

"Because we don't trust anything that has the appearance it could be as smart as us. Show a wolf how a door opens once, they're going to know what a door is. They remember."

Seemingly satisfied with her answers, Dr. Wu leaned back in his seat and gave an almost unnoticeable nod towards Claire. If Cady hadn't known any better, she might have thought that it was Wu, not Dearing, that was really pulling the strings. She didn't know much, but she was pretty sure the Lead Genetic Biologist had more leverage than an Operations Director at the current moment.

"As Jurassic World is such a unique theme park, we have to keep the public interested, and while dinosaurs were good enough in the beginning, we've made efforts to branch out," Claire began. "While hybrid creation is one route that we know will be successful, we need to have multiple paths to travel. We've read your research, we've spoken to your peers and colleagues, and after conducting our own thorough background investigation, we'd formally like to offer you the newly created position of Canis Researcher in charge of the Fenrir Project."

_Canis?_

"Dog research?" Cady asked a bit incredulously, not putting the pieces together fast enough. "Why would anyone here be doing dog research?"

Her question, and perhaps confused expression, caused Dr. Wu to chuckle as Claire pushed an open folder across the table.

"Not dogs," Wu chimed in suddenly. "What do you know about the Pleistocene's Dire Wolf, Miss Starc?"

* * *

 

 **Author Note** : _Living with Wolves_ , the documentary from Nat Geo, really did follow a married couple that lived with the Sawtooth Pack for six years, and is where I draw a lot of inspo from. Largely, I know nothing beyond the basics of wolves and what I wrote about in fifth grade on a research paper because they're my favorite. I'm basing most of my information on what light research I did so basically take it with a grain of salt, we're talking about resurrection biology so there's bigger problems of keeping in touch with reality.

Tumblr: **[@deextinction](http://deextinction.tumblr.com/)**


	2. Bury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cady gains employment, Claire bares her teeth, and we meet Dr. Stacey 'no relation to Alan' Grant.

**Author Note** : Dang, dudes like such a reaction to this story—I'm really glad, I'm hoping to live up to y'all's standards, so thanks.

Beginning with this chapter, and with a lot of the nuances of (De)Extinction seen later, I'll be taking liberties with background information. Like the fact nobody gave Barry a last name, for shame writers, or how some things aren't so fleshed out. So that sort of stuff, if you're interested, is over on the tumblr under **[/canon](http://deextinction.tumblr.com/canon)**. 

Read/Comment/Bookmark, follow the tumblr account ([@deextinction](http://deextinction.tumblr.com)) for previews and pretty things

* * *

 

 _"It's less like biting off more than you chew, and more like dislocating your jaw."_ – Shitty Horoscopes Book VI: After the Fall

Dire Wolf.

Canius Dirus.

The Fearsome Dog.

While Cady really hadn't wanted to show it on her face—there was such as thing as an interview poker face, right? But goddamn it if they didn't already know they had hooked her with that single question. She knew what the Dire Wolf was, the Gray Wolf's ancestor that were by far, deadlier and larger than its present day descendent. She'd held a skull once, when she'd been an undergrad, that was larger than both her hands cupped, with teeth able to grind bones into powder.

Well, everything was coming together now; it all made sense why they had gone through all the trouble of finding her, and tracking her down in the middle of nowhere Washington. Why they were interested in her work, and her view on things, and yet…

"How?" Cady all but demanded, going for the throat of the conversation. "There's never been enough intact DNA to resurrect the Wolf."

"That may have been true a few years ago," Claire admitted, trying to regain control of the conversation. "That isn't the case now, the technology is more advanced, and as you can tell, we here at Jurassic World are the experts. Our DNA Excavators have discovered soft tissue samples frozen deep in Canadian glaciers, enough for a near full DNA strain."

Cady's brow furrowed at hearing the phrase _near full_ , if she came armed with alarm bells they'd probably be ringing. How had Dr. Grant phrased In-Gen's work? Genetically altered theme park monsters?

"Near full? Then what would mix in to make it seem complete? The Grey Wolf, or what, some part of a domesticated dog like the Great Dane?"

"I'm afraid that information would be classified," Dr. Wu answered, though Cady was sure he didn't sound very upset, rather bored actually.

"But you want me to climb into a paddock with them and work with them?" Cady looked at both the Doctor and Claire incredulously. Were they insane? "Without knowing exactly what I'll be dealing with?"

"Safety, Miss Starc," Claire's answered as if speaking to a particularly slow toddler, "of our employees is one of our main priorities here at Jurassic World. We've gone 258 days without an incident of any kind, ranging from non-life threating—such as an asset entering a non-designated area—to violent, which I'm sure you understand what thing could entail."

Cady all but bristled at the woman's tone, her tongue running along the front of her upper teeth in agitation. As if sensing the tension, Claire continued, her tone a bit softer, a bit more saleswoman, slightly 'let me show what's behind the curtain'.

"FENRIR would be first and foremost a research program before a park attraction, though that is the end game for the assets. However, before we move on to being open to the public, we need to ensure a baseline for behavior and conditioning," She clarified. "We already have behavioral program undergoing at the moment with another asset, which has incurred minimal incidents. In fact, it's probably one of the safest paddocks in the facility."

As if sensing the elephant in the room, Dr. Wu spoke one word: "Velociraptors."

_Dires would just be over grown pups then._

"Now, if we've sufficiently explained the project, I'm sure Dr. Wu has more pressing matters to attend to in the labs,"—Cady definitely felt like they hadn't as she watched the Doctor leave the conference room but what else could she do?—"We need to talk about legalities beyond what you've signed. That type of conversation depends on whether or not you accept the position, Miss Starc."

 _What?_ "How do you mean?"

"If you decline the position, everything that has been disclosed to you will remain within these walls." And then as if she under went a three-hundred-and-sixty degree change, Claire Dearing was suddenly all-teeth; fiercely protective over her park to anyone that would dare harm its future. "If you think for one moment you can violate the contracts you signed earlier for your own gain, you are sorely mistaken. We have the best litigation in the business and **we will bury you**."

_Okay, so what about Door Number Two?_

"And if I accept the position?"

Claire smiled smugly, as if she expected that reply. "Beyond the required paperwork such as your work visa, you will be unable to disclose on your position here at Jurassic World to those outside of the employee network. We understand that gossip is not a matter of if, but rather when here.

"However," she laid heavy emphasis as she spoke. "If you disclose to say, a family member or friend, then you will be released from your contract and you will have to endure the eight-years of our non-negotiable Non-Compete Contract you'll have been required to sign."

Cady bit her lip, her nails tapping on the glass top of the conference table while she looked over Claire's shoulder out towards the bit of the park she could see. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, there was no doubt about that, and she didn't have anything back in Washington. Cady didn't want to return home, tail tucked between her legs like a failure with a Master's degree and a pile of debt. Except she had grown up on the horror stories about the first park, about the terror in San Diego: the Lieutenant had seen the damage done by Frankenstein's (or should it be Doctor Wu?) monsters, and told her when she was older.

"What's the salary like for a position like this?" Cady inquired suddenly, eyes snapping back to Claire from the window. "Insurance too?"

"For a position such as yours, taking into account your degrees and experience, we're willing to start you," Claire hesitated as she eyed the paper in front her eye, "at $65,000. Insurance is full, with all-inclusive dental, vision, life and major medical, provided through Masrani Wellness which is one of the best companies in the business."

Horrors there may be, but on the other hand, there was money. A lot of money to pay back a lot of student loans.

Leaning back in the chair, Cady made the snap decision.

"I'll do it, I'll take the position."

Claire smiled like the cat that caught the canary as she pulled out a few legal documents—as if she had been confident the whole time that Cady would accept the position, and maybe she was—then slide them across to her with a fountain pen.

"Great. I'll just need you to sign the following, and Zara will walk you down to Human Resources for the rest."

_This must be what it's like making a deal with the Devil then._

**. . .**

Once Claire left the conference room, it was five minutes until Zara arrived to chaperone her to Human Resources. The fifteen-minute walk to HR had been, well nice wouldn't be the word to describe it, but it was less stressful than when Cady had met the Briton that morning. Instead of feeling like she was experience deep winter in the Arctic, Cady found it was more like a moderate Georgia fall. Not to be mistaken though, they were still very much the babysat and the babysitter, but they were on the same plane with Cady's promised employment.

When the two reached Human Resources, it was nothing like Cady had envisioned (which really seemed to be the majority of Jurassic World) it to be. It was limited to three women and one man working in tandem like a well-oiled machine, and it was a middle-aged Mrs. Harding that got to deal with her. As Cady filled out the required information, the older woman worked on getting an expiated work visa from the Costa Rican government, a task she had accomplished in fifteen minutes.

Cady, on the other hand, had only finished one part of the four-part pile.

It was no surprise that it took three hours and one hand cramp later for her to be holding her newly laminated employee pass with terrible photo and all, that declared her an official 'Paleo Canis Researcher'. The time frame of when she would start work was set (in around a month and a half), her relocation allowance had been given to her, along with information on the company that would relocate her. They'd given her a bungalow near what was to be the Fenrir paddock as well—Cady didn't take it as good sign when Mrs. Harding winced reading it. Finally, as a way to cement her security clearance of Stage 4, her fingerprints and a copy of her iris were put into the database as well.

And like any good babysitter, Zara was waiting in the hall ready to walk her back.

"Jurassic World and Miss Dearing also wanted to give you this complimentary 3-Day VIP package to the park," Zara explained handing over a wristband to Cady as they made their way down Main Street. "That includes a room at the Hilton, and any services incurred during your stay."

"That's pretty generous of them," Cady slipped on the band. "I didn't really plan on staying."

Zara raised an eyebrow. "Really? Most people would jump at the chance."

"I didn't think I would be taking the job, if I'm honest."

"Fair enough," Zara conceded as the pair began up the steps of the Innovation Center, pausing to give a sly smile. "The two people before you said no within five minutes though. They must have been lacking something."

Cady took in the crowds around them, and then replied. "Maybe suicidal tendencies."

Zara pretended not to hear.

"Now, someone else was hired to work with you, a Dr. Stacey Grant. Claire thought you two should meet considering how closely you'll be working, so she should be meeting us here in a few minutes. Last I spoke to her she had been at the Mosasaurus Feeding Show, she should nearly be here—oh, look, there she is—Dr. Grant! Stacey!"

At the base of the steps was a woman giving an awkward wave, weaving throughout the crowd towards where the duo stood off to the side. She was petite, much smaller than Cady's 5'6", with dark skin and brown hair that had been pulled back in a bun looking a bit damp from the feeding.

"Hi, hi! I'm Dr. Stacey Grant, no relation to Dr. Alan Grant," she introduced herself with a handshake as she stopped before them. "I took some time to dry off, you were right Zara, that was definitely extreme in the splash."

"I told you!" Zara exclaimed with energy feeling vindicated before turning a bit more serious. "Dr. Grant this is Cady Starc, she accepted the Paleo Research position. Miss Starc, Dr. Grant is your fellow researcher."

"Call me Stacey," she insisted. "It's a pleasure, genuinely. I didn't think they'd find anyone else for the project after two people turned it down."

Cady shrugged, taking the new piece of information in stride. "It's always great to be someone's lucky third choice."

As Stacey went to speak, Zara's phone began ringing, the generic ringtone of a Masrani Global phone going off. The PA made a bit of a face as she looked at the screen, then at the two researchers.

"I'm sorry, I have to go deal with—"

"It's fine," Cady interjected ready to be let off the babysat leash. "Go do your job, I'm sure me and Dr. Grant have a lot to talk about."

"If you're sure—"

"We are," both women interrupted together, causing Zara to huff.

"Alright," She relented while putting her phone up to her ear, ready to bolt. "But if you need anything just remember you can ask any Hilton concierge."

"Understood," Stacey made a motion with her hands, "Now shoo."

The assistant didn't need any more prodding before she disappeared into the Innovation Center and out of sight. For Cady, it felt like someone had lifted a weight from her shoulders and as she looked over at her new co-worker, at least she had someone that understood the situation. Surprisingly it was Stacey who spoke first.

"There's a Starbucks just around the corner here," She said, pointing over her shoulder. "Want to get a drink and discuss?"

"Oh fuck yes," Cady agreed, bouncing down a step or two. "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills."

Stacey just laughed as the two moved down the stairs, dodging adults and kids alike who were rushing around.

"I know exactly how you feel," she commiserated. "But imagine being here two days without being able to say a word to anyone! And then not knowing if the Project was actually going to happen because nobody was accepting the job."

"Yeah, that sounds terrible," Cady agreed sidestepping what seemed to be a seven-year old on the loose. "Honestly, I'm still not sure why I said yes. The fact that I'm going to be working here, and I have to inform my father about it, really should have been a scarier deterrent than the T-Rex."

Holding open the door to Starbucks, Stacey asked, "What, he wouldn't want you to work here?"

"Thank you," the twenty-four year-old said walking in. "And he experienced San Diego, so…"

"Yeah," Stacey drawled out slowly as the pair got into line. "I'm not sure I'd want to hear my kid would be working here either then."

The conversation ended quickly as the baristas swooped in to take their drink orders—a iced vanilla latte for Stacey, and a dirty iced chai for Cady—and both women paid. In five minutes, both had their drinks and, after scouting around for a table not in the harsh Costa Rican sun, found themselves sitting at a small table under a large umbrella. Neither woman wanted to resume their conversation just yet, instead opting to people watch and just relax with their coffee.

 _Maybe I can put off calling or telling them until the last minute, or when I'm already here_ , she mused before quickly shooting that idea down. _No, he'd call in his favors to fly in by Blackhawk, and drag me back stateside._

Putting her drink down on the table, Stacey said, "I remember reading your article, Alpha & Omega, a while back."

"Really? I didn't think anyone really read that outside of academe, just the article done by Nat Geo."

"No, it was good," the Doctor complimented. "Wolves have historically be written off as vicious killing machines, and it was nice to see scientific study really set out to disproving it."

"What's your doctorate in then?" Cady asked, ready to move the spotlight off herself.

"I'm a behavioral paleontologist," seeing the blank look on her co-worker's face, Stacey went on, "It's a fancy way to presume the life cycle of dead animals based on how and where their fossils are discovered. I specialize in the Dire Wolf."

Cady gave a bark of a laugh at the dumbed down definition.

"Well, that explains why you're here boarding the crazy train," pausing to take a sip of her drink, then–"The question is if you think they can actually do what they've told us? I don't feel like crawling into a pit with Satan's guard dogs because someone mucked up with the DNA."

"I think," Stacey began in a carefully measured tone that reminded Cady how she had spoken to frightened animals, "that this is the best place we have at something like this. And I'm willing to take the chance. The question is are you?"

"I wouldn't have signed my life away if I hadn't," Cady admitted, playing with the straw of her plastic cup. "Have you seen our paddock? Claire mentioned it was already built, it was one being repurposed or something?"

"Yeah, it's being repurposed all right," Stacey acknowledged with a deep frown, "And you won't believe where they've got us."

* * *

 

 

 **Author Note** : While I'm sure JW has a more complex hiring system (probably a few agencies stateside for the low-ranking employees), I would imagine that for a project requiring high clearance would be done by Dr. Wu and Claire herself (mainly because she's all about control, and Masrani would trust her judgement). I also want to do her proud, because I do enjoy her hell-in-heels character.


	3. His

**Author Note** : I really wanted to get this out last night but I ended up redoing the entire section of Cady/Owen because I made him too much of a dick. I feel like now, he's not 100% of a dick and more likable all while being believable. Considering this is almost 3 years before film events I have a lot of leeway with how Barry and Owen behave somewhat, I'd like to think they haven't endured any violent work-place accidents, so they're a bit cavalier.

* * *

"As soon as there is life there is danger." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

To say it had been a terrible day for Owen Grady would have been an understatement, and as far as he could tell, it wasn't going to be getting any better. Standing on the crosswalk over the interior of the raptor paddock, his clicker forgotten in his left hand, he watched 'his' girls below. They were milling, around the paddock security gate, heads bobbing back and forth completely ignoring the presence of their Alpha above.

Echo had stayed silent most of the day, instead busying herself with trying to wedge her skull through the bars for a better look, gashing her teeth at anyone who walked by. Owen was pretty sure one of the newer handlers had pissed himself the first time she'd snarled at him. No, it was Charlie who was causing most of the fuss from today, sending out deep rumbles from her throat to Delta, who'd then send a series of short barks at Blue who'd turn around and snap at both her subordinates' neck as if agitated. It'd been like that all week, only their location of interest would shift; from a training standpoint the whole week was turning out to be a waste, any progress Owen had believed he'd made with the pack seemed to be loss as more and more worker's turned up to work at Paddock Two.

"They've been like this since Monday," Barry commented as he appeared on the catwalk. "You think it's just the influx of people that's throwing them off?"

Owen shook his head, and then wiped his brow.

"I don't know," he admitted, scratching his left cheek through the bit of beard—he really needed to shave soon—"I thought that might have been it because you know how they get, but it's more than that. It's like they know something changing."

Though the pack couldn't see the workers, the noise being made reverberated perfectly in their paddock, amplifying as it bounced off the walls. Even when he was in his 'office,' Owen could still hear the racket through his own walls. So yeah, if he were going to put money down on why his girls were so upset, he'd go with the fact that they knew something was changing. It wasn't just the influx of people and equipment—they'd seen that before with their own paddock—but rather that it happening where they couldn't see that was distressing them.

"At least you'll have something new for the reports."

"True," Barry shook his hand with a smile, leaning on the catwalk railing as Owen came to him. "I'll title them 'Velociraptors and Distraction of Impromptu Construction,' they'll be riveting reading for a rainy day."

Owen chuckled before pausing, thinking over what he was just told.

"Wait," he stopped half way up the steps of the paddock's outer walkway. "You actually title your reports?"

"Not only that but, get this, I turn them in on time."

"God, no wonder Dearing likes you," Owen complained as he took the stairs in a quick jog.

From the top of the paddock wall the amount of construction going on at Paddock Two was never more apparent. There were men and women toiling around, all looking like ants from Owen and Barry's view. Some of them were carrying out foliage from inside, while others were sandblasting the rusted structure for sealant.

"Look at them," Barry pointed out the three people scrambling out of muddy jeep. "Investors?"

"Nah," Owen shook his head. "Maybe what all the fuss is about though, could always find out. The usual?"

"There you go, always trying to scare off the civilians."

"I didn't hear a no."

Barry just grinned. "Also true, but I'm not the one who's got reports to play catch up with."

**. . .**

Dr. Stacey Grant, Cady was finding out rather quickly, was much more of a 'show you' than 'tell you' person. The condition of the paddock, she'd stressed was wasn't that Cady had "to see to believe," which is how she ended up sitting in the backseat of a Jeep with her new acquaintance Sean—a deeply tanned man in his late 40s with light salt and pepper black hair—driving them deeper into employee only section of the island.

"So," she leaned forward between the two front seats after 15 minutes of silence. "Sean, how did you meet Stacey?"

"Zara, you know Dearing's English flower," he described in a Southern drawl, "She asked me to take her out to the paddock a day ago. Said the Doc here wanted to see her space. I told her she ever needed anything else why she was here she could just call me."

"Well that's plum nice of you, isn't that right Stacey?" Cady didn't need to look to see if her new co-worker was blushing. It was a fact, she was. "She said the paddock isn't up to snuff, you've seen it, what'd do you think?"

"It'll be ready by the time you ladies get back," Sean insisted in spite of Cady's pessimism. "I've never known the park to let something fall behind schedule, they're real sticklers. Especially with the space y'all are set to share, it's probably one of the safest areas on the whole island."

As soon as the Jeep pulled off the main jungle dirt road, Cady was greeted with the sight of armed guards—"Those ACU gents are in charge of keeping order, they carry the non-lethals, big 'ole stun guns. Hurt like a sumabitch."—setup in a sort of perimeter around and on the paddock.

"That's Paddock One, the—"

"Velociraptors," Stacey interrupted as the Jeep crept to a crawl. "I've heard."

"It'd be best if they weren't out here at all. Now this," Sean pointed out the windshield as he parked the Jeep, "is your paddock, Miss Starc."

Cady nearly fell out of the passenger door before the Jeep came to a complete to see the place she was going to be calling home for the next few months. It wasn't as bad as she had thought given Stacey's description. Had it been a boat, it definitely wouldn't have been sea worthy though. Settled so close to the ocean cliffs, the sea salt had begun to corrode the metal of the paddock itself, large husks of rusk baking in the Costa Rican sun. The security lights were busted, broken bulbs and wires hanging about, and it seemed to be the same with the cameras from what she could see. Notwithstanding those largely depressing parts, the amount of people working to rectify the problems was impressive. They seemed to all move with a mission, sandblasting the rust or rewiring, the workers went along with their jobs without much fanfare.

_Let's see what the inside looks like._

Without waiting for either companion, Cady made her way towards the double layer security gates that were open, passing a woman bent over a table with some schematics, and into the paddock itself. It was larger than she thought, and nearly bare of anything, mostly just filled with dirt and rocks backing up with Stacey had mentioned about them removing the plants. There was small creek-bed running through the middle, dried up and full of nothing but stones. The walls looked to be about twenty, twenty-five feet high and a catwalk crisscrossed its way to give someone—me, most likely—a perfect aerial view.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's rough, but it could be worse," Cady was honest as she turned to look at Stacey. "I'm just worried about how they'll den."

"They've got the plans, if you want to see them," Stacey motioned back behind her. "I made some adjustments when I was here."

"Yeah," she muttered taking another look around the paddock. "Yeah I'd like that."

Two steps out of the paddock, and Cady found herself being introduced to the woman she'd brushed by earlier when she wanted to see inside. Her name was Lisa, and she was the Site Manager of the paddock restoration from Axis Boulder. She was taller than both women, all long limbs with a blond bob, pale snow white skin that had been tinged in pink from the sun despite the long sleeve white shirt she wore and khaki pants.

"I hear you've got some concerns about the interior?"

"Not really concerns, just, uh questions?" That hadn't even sounded reliable to her ears, causing Cady to struggle to expand. "I just, ah, I wanted to make sure they have a den; is there a den area? Like—"

The Site Manager just smiled, putting her hand out to stop the word vomit.

"I know what you mean," She confirmed pointing on the schematic. "If you'll look here, we've already got instructions for a den, it goes about 6, 6 ½ feet into the ground, and about 10 square feet. The area should be a good 10, 15 degrees cooler than the ground area. That good enough?"

The corner of Cady's mouth twitched up, one hand trailing over the plans. "Pretty much perfect."

"Now you," Lisa turned on Stacey, who'd been on her left. "We've made some of the adjustments you asked for the other day…"

It was easy for Cady to block out of the conversation when the two women started talking about fauna and flora, and made off to look at the paddock some more. Under the sun, she felt like an egg on the middle of a sidewalk at the height of summer, the sea breeze barely making a different.

_Ugh, should have taken off the blazer in the Jeep._

Ignoring the side workers from Timack were currently sandblasting, Cady drifted to the finished side that faced Paddock One. The other stairwell had been redone completely, the chrome shining brightly in the sunlight with a new retrofitted security door, and just as she was about to bound up them—

"So would you be the reason there's all this fuss?"

The question, asked in a moderately heavy French accent, caused Cady to stumble, her wedge-heeled boot slipping on the first step. With reactions faster than the ones she knew she possessed, Cady's left hand lashed out, grabbing the railing in a death grip, knuckles white. The momentum from the stop felt like it was going to yank her shoulder out. Not the worse pain she'd ever felt, but definitely one of the more unpleasant ones.

"Jesus Christ," Cady turned, rubbing her rotator cuff. "That depends, are you the person who tries to kill the new hires?"

He was tall, which was saying a lot in comparison to Cady's 5'6" height, dark skinned with a clean-shaven head. Dressed in a pair of plain pants, and dark shirt covered by an unbuttoned red flannel he looked incredibly relaxed leaning up on one of the Timack trucks.

"Only the ones who rile up the girls," He stood off the truck, jerking his head towards the Raptor paddock, holding out a hand. "Barry Emard, I work with the Velociraptors."

"Cady Starc," she introduced accepting the handshake. "And yeah, might as well blame me…"

"What they putting your charge of all the way out here?" He asked, hands finding their way into his pant pockets. "This is the dead end of the park, and I mean that in more way than one."

"If I told you, I'm pretty sure Miss Dearing would have us both killed."

He laughed, Barry's shoulders genuinely shaking at her answer causing Cady to frown. It may have been a funny way to phrase it, but Claire Dearing's warning about burying her alive still rang clear in her head like a bell. No way would she dick around with a woman how probably picked baby bones from her teeth at night, no thank you.

"She gives everyone the same speech when hiring for work like ours," He confided. "I wouldn't worry much about it."

"Unlike you with your man-eaters, I don't have much else to worry about at the moment."

Barry didn't have anything to say to that, bringing the conversation to a lull and leaving them to bake in the sun. What he wanted to do was find out what was going in the paddock—Owen would trade the weekend work shifts for that sort of information—he just needed to give something good to get it. And he had four good things to show for that intel.

"You want to see them?" He asked, then clarifying—"The raptors, I mean."

"Is that…allowed?"

Lightly shrugging he said, "Only one way to find out."

Then he turned on his heel and was walking off, as if he just expected her to follow, leaving Cady torn between following towards the man-eating dinosaurs or staying. Fight or flight. And just like she had that morning in the meeting, Cady made a snap decision, her legs carrying her quickly to catch up to the Frenchman.

_Curiosity is going to kill me._

"How many are there? What's their growth rate like?" The closer she and Barry drew to the Raptor Paddock, the more questions that seemed to bubble up in her throat. Cady felt like she an undergrad learning about her wolves again, brimming with questions that needed answering. "The social hierarchy? How..."

Her voice died off at the first terrible screech cut through the air as she and Barry came up on the double security gate. It was near mirror image of the paddock she had just left, except for the four massive beasts clamoring only ten feet or so from where she stood on the other side. They were butting the gate with their heads, their claws catching on the metal that fanned horizontally, all the while squawking amongst themselves. The sound only grew with more fervor as Barry stopped in front, Cady by his side.

"We have four: Blue, Delta, Charlie, and Echo," Barry said answering her previous questions. "They reached full adulthood by seven or so months, but the rate fluctuates. Blue reached adulthood the fastest, Delta and Charlie were about the same, Echo is the smallest of the pack. Generally speaking, their large slashing claws come in about the six-month mark. To be safe, we stopped handling them around three months."

Cady frowned. "You haven't stepped into the cage with any of them since?"

"Would you?"

As if to punctuate Barry's response, one of the raptors—the brownest of the four, with hunter green striping—gashing her jaws in quick succession between the bars

"If I had a death wish maybe," Cady said not taking her eyes off the raptor. "Which one's which?"

"The mouthy one there is Echo, next to her, the green one with the black striping down her neck, that's Charlie. Blue," Barry motioned to the raptor in front of the safety gate's door with a shock of blue trailing down her side, "well she's pretty self explanatory. The last there is Delta."

At the sound of her name Delta gave a high-pitched bark of a noise, something similar to a wolf's growl in the back of the throat, shoving one of her sisters to the side trying to claw her way through the gate. Not two seconds later did the adeptly named Blue screech, sending a good nip towards Delta's throat to stop the underbrush-colored raptor. It didn't seem to take much for the rest of the pack to fall near silent under Blue's command.

"Blue?" Cady asked, testing the name, the raptor huffing loudly. "She the Alpha then?"

"No, she's not." A voice behind her answered, "That's me."

Letting go of the gate bars Cady turned around, reluctantly dragging her eyes off the raptors only a few feet away that had stayed silent. The man—because really, there was no other way to describe him since he screamed "look at this male specimen"—was taller than her, like Barry was, with a deep bronze tan from the sun proving his work outside, and a head of dark brass colored hair with a beard to match. He wore a grey Henley, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows showing off his forearms—fucking Christ on a cross—and pants that Cady was almost eighty-percent certain were tighter than hers. In the distance there were a few shouts from somewhere around the paddock.

"Barry, go check on what Brady's yelling about," He ordered as he walked up stand at the gate, his shoulder brushing hers. "Owen Grady, Velociraptor Trainer."

"It was nice meeting you, Barry!" She called as the Frenchman went off with a grumble, before turning to the man beside her. "Cady Starc, assigned to Paddock Two."

Just beyond the gate, the four raptors began a mix of chirping, and something similar to chortling towards their so-called Alpha. Not anywhere near subdued…but almost relaxed with the still 'claw open up your stomach to eat you' edge. They reminded Cady of the wolves back in Idaho, the pack mentality and the lethality but in a slick 6ft package.

"How much meat do they eat daily?"

"They've leveled out to anything between 25 to 40lbs a day," Owen answered as he looked at the girls. "But we've noticed the hotter it is, the less they seem to eat."

 _Like dogs,_ Cady considered. _Makes sense, the more they'd eat the more energy they'd waste._

Owen turned to her, his arm crossed— _Really? The forearms should be illegal, Jesus Christ_ —his side leaning up on the gate, his focus solely on her and not the raptors that'd gone back to screeching. Just behind him in the distance, Cady could see Stacey walking with Lisa the Site Manager going over the plans. Her absence hadn't been noticed yet.

There was a lull in the conversation, Owen squinting up at the sky clearly thinking, allowing Cady to look back at the Raptors who had somewhat scattered from the gate. She couldn't help but wonder if her girls—her wolves—would turn out anything like them; would she have be separated by a gate, too afraid they'd try to make a meal out of her? It didn't seem like a wondrous prospect, but then again, neither she nor Stacey really knew what they'd be given in two months.

_God, I was never good at gambling._

"Hey, follow me," Owen said unexpectedly, abandoning his spot at the gate to walk a few feet away towards a security gate that locked one of the paddock's outer stairwells. He punched in his passcode, the door buzzing as he yanked it open, making a motion for her to step through as he held the door. As soon as Cady stepped through, the door slammed shut, locking behind the pair and Owen brushed past her, leading her up the stairwell along the outside. A few moments later, they were both standing in the middle catwalk over the paddock, looking down on the girls who were chirping up at them.

"Am I even allowed to be up here?"

"Depends on your flexible definition of 'allowed,'" Owen answered honestly with a smirk, leaning on the railing to look over the paddock. "But, I figure since you've got your own space being built—and being a general nuisance to the rest of us—you might want to get a feel for what it'll be like. Any more questions, kid?"

She brushed off the kid comment-—was twenty-four, nearly twenty-five, still a kid?—choosing instead to walk to the edge of the railing cautiously eyeing the man-eaters just a few feet below from her. 'Convenient biting height' was all she could think as she watched Delta try to take a jump at the catwalk.

"Can they reach up here?"

He shook his head. "They haven't yet, but I wouldn't want to dangle myself off here like a worm."

"So they've tried," she muttered while trying to remember the interview with Dr. Grant she'd read before coming to the island. Something about Raptor intelligence… "Are they as smart as some of the survivors have said then?"

"Sometimes I think they're smarter," he admitted then shooting a short whistle down at the girls, encouraging their squawking. "Their brain is a lot like ours when it comes to memory, it makes them ideal for training but risky at the same time, you can't strong arm them like say dogs. They understand basic commands after only a few drills, but really, a lot of the time it's up to them if they want to respond, if they respect you enough to. And don't even get me started on them and doors; we had to make sure the whole facility was proofed."

"Baby-proofing but for Raptors," she joked.

"Pretty much," he said with a chuckle. "I hope I haven't scared you off from raising some?"

If only you knew, buddy.

"You don't need to worry about that," Cady said, turning her body towards him, her hip digging in on the railing. "It isn't Raptors going into that cage."

"Then what did you get assigned to that had you put all the way out here?"

She shrugged. "Accepted the job."

"Is that what you told Barry?" Owen asked as the girls disappeared into the foliage.

"Nah, I told Barry that if I told him I'm pretty sure Miss Dearing would kill us both."

At her answer, he gave a bark of a laugh that seemed to startle the Raptors in the bushes, a series of short shrieks rising up.

"You've got a sense of humor, that's good. You'll need it working here."—Cady really wasn't sure Dearing had been joking with her less than veiled threat—"But in all seriousness, what's going in the paddock?"

"Why does it matter?" She shot back.

Owen sighed, pushing himself to his full height, as if that alone could make her break. Cady was only slightly phased when he stepped close enough that they touched, and she had to crane her head back to look at him.

"It's bothering my girls, and what bothers my girls bothers me." When Cady didn't bend he tried a different tactic, "Alright, I'll level with you. Barry and I have a bit…of a wager, regarding what's going into the paddock. Winner gets $50, and two weekends off from nocturnal observations."

_Oh, well know it all makes sense why Barry wanted to show off the Raptors._

"And you want to win the bet, am I right?"

Owen gave a bit of noncommittal shrug. "It's a streak I'd like to keep going, sure."

"Okay, say I'm feel so inclined to tell you," Cady began slowly, "What do I get out of this arrangement?"

"Dinner," He said, resting his hands either side of her on the railing effectively caging her. "With me."

"Are you kidding me? Does that ever really work?" She asked, gently removing one of his hands to slide past him. "How about half of that $50? I'm thinking that sounds about fair."

"Well yeah, sometimes," He answered honestly, then quickly backtracking seeing the frown settle in on her face. A loss of $25 wasn't terrible; he could live with if it got two weekends off from the night shift. He held out his right hand to her, wiggling his fingers. "Alright, fine. Half the money."

"Okay," Cady agreed, shaking his hand sealing the deal.

"And a drink," Owen smirked, letting go of her hand. "You staying at the Resort?"

As she went to answer—possibly to verbally berate him, Owen really wasn't sure—a call from Barry down on the ground outside the paddock stopped her. Cursing his right hand man from hell and back, he could see faintly through the safety gate that Barry was entertaining the other woman Cady had arrived with.

"Your friend?" He asked, pointing towards the gate.

"New co-worker," She said after turning around to squint to see a half obscured view of Stacey. "Guess it's time for me to split."

Owen nodded, his hand going to the base of her spine as he led her back the way they had come up. Heat seemed to radiate from where his hand was touching her blazer, making Cady sure that if had been touching skin, she'd feel like she had been set on fire.

_Maybe dinner with him wouldn't have been such a bad idea._

"You gonna tell me what's going in the paddock?" Owen muttered in her ear as they walked down the stairwell, his warm breath giving her goose bumps. "Or am I gonna have to guess?"

_Shit, what was the phrase Stacey used? The classification? Large something? Fuck. Mega…Megasomething. Jesus Christ why don't you ever listen, Cady? Mega…mega…_

"Megafauna!" She all but exclaimed when the word hit her like freight train. "Megafauna is going in the paddock!"

Owen frowned as he punched in his security code, and they both exited coming to the front of the paddock. A few feet from the pair, Barry was animatedly talking with Stacey, neither of them having noticed the appearance of the two trainers.

"Isn't that a classification?" He asked finally.

"Cady!"— _And saved by Dr. Grant, great timing_ —"There you are, I've been looking for you all over! I thought you might have become a snake for one of the Velociraptors!"

"Oh no, just making friends here with our future neighbors. Owen, this is Dr. Stacey Grant, Stacey, this is Owen Grady, the Raptor trainer. Owen here just thought it'd be good if I saw the catwalk view of the paddock, so that's where I was. In the paddock. With Owen."

She wanted to crawl under a rock the more she spoke, the word vomit terrible as she panicked slightly. Owen's hand, that had still been sitting on the small of her back, finally slide off as he came to stand next to her, his hands going to his front pockets.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Grant." Owen acknowledge, before looking straight to Barry. "Cady here was just telling me you two plan on having Megafauna in the paddock? That should be different."

If Cady had ever wanted to see the look of defeat cross a man's face, the desire was fulfilled with one glance at Barry. The man's shoulders seemed to slump completely, and a frown marred his face. Two weekends of nocturnal observations would depress anyone, she reasoned, but the fact that Owen had won was making the man a bit too gleeful.

"Yeah. We're pretty excited about it too," Stacey said, brick walling him more than Cady had been able too. "But we really need to go, Cady. Sean has go over the Aviary, but he said he could give a lift to the nearest monorail station. Owen, it was nice to meet you."

Then the petite Doctor was marching away towards the Jeep and Sean, her anger clear in her walk. Cady was sure it was because she's wondered off, and not stayed to look at the paddock. Or it could have been the fact that she gave Owen a broad clue about what they were doing.

"Barry," Cady said turning to the tall Frenchman, "It was really nice to meet you, thanks for introducing me to the girls."

He smiled, waving off her words. "It was no problem, Cady. It'll be good to have neighbors once the noise dies down."

"If ever," Owen muttered loud enough for both of them to hear, his hand reappearing on her back and he started pushing her along. "Come on, Cady, I'll walk you to the Jeep."

"Jesus Christ," Cady said when they far enough away from Barry, removing his hand herself. "Has anyone ever told you that you're handsy? Jeez."

"Once or twice, but I've been told it's a bad thing."

Ugh.

"You didn't answer before, are you staying at the Resort?"

"Yeah," Cady answered. "When do you get off here?"

"Around 7, 7:30ish," He ball parked before they stopped just shy of the Jeep. "Meet you in the lobby at 8?"

"Sounds good," she agreed opening the backseat passenger door then climbed in. "Don't be late."

Then she slammed the door shut in his face.

* * *

 

 **Author Note** : 5k later...like holy crap how was that for an introduction? I wanted there to be some friction, like obviously Cady isn't blind, she knows Owen is attractive but cognitive dissonance has got her a bit in knots. I'm still not totally sold on Owen's tone (I get the feeling I was channelling Peter Quill at some points), but like I said, Owen here is younger than Movie!Owen. To give you an idea, it's just been over a year of working at Jurassic World and with his raptors. In comaprison, I feel pretty comfortable with writing Barry.

For previews/soundtrack/quotes follow [**@deextinction**](http://deextinction.tumblr.com) on tumblr.


	4. Chase

_"Girls who run with the wolves  
aren't here for boys to love."_ – M.J. Pearl

"I can't believe you!"

The ride to the monorail station had been strained to say the least, with Sean doing most of the talking seemingly unaware of the tension between the two women. It hadn't been until they'd left the car, making their way up the stairs to the platform elbowing their way past the tourists heading in the opposite direction, that Stacey had finally imploded.

Cady rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you really can't be upset over that, can you?"

"What?" Stacey asked rhetorically as they came to the platform. "I _shouldn't_ be upset after watching you tip-toe your way around your NDA in front of me because some guy decides to flex his muscles?"

"Okay firstly, that's not how it was at _all_ ," Cady insisted, and even though she was more than a bit insulted she tried to keep her voice down. Around the pair were a few families still milling, and there wasn't any reason to make a scene. "And secondly, I only give them an obscure reference, I doubt they're gonna make any connections."

"You really don't know anything about this place, do you?" Stacey questioned in exasperation as the monorail arrived. Right as the compartment door before them opened, she was boarding quickly leaving Cady to follow behind. "Owen Grady, the man you were getting so cozy with, has three degrees. He isn't some country bumpkin who's fallen off the truck."

 _Country bumpkin?_ Cady mouthed to herself as she stepped inside the cool compartment and, unlike Stacey who took a seat, grabbed ahold of a hanging strap to remain standing. As if blessed with a miracle, nobody else on the platform joined them, leaving the duo alone to continue their heated conversation. There was a chime signally the doors sliding shut and the monorail pulled out of the station, the sensation causing Cady to grip the strap slightly tighter.

Stacey exhaled in annoyance. "I'm just saying you need to be careful."

"Careful of what?"

"Of not giving Claire a reason to replace you!" She all but exploded, a look of disbelief fleeting on her face. "Or a reason to end the project, you already made it sound like she isn't a fan of you and—"

"I was the third choice," Cady cut off, finishing the sentence a bit blandly. It had become apparent, at least once she had been told, that by being the third choice meant they probably had others to choose from. Meant she was rather easy to replace if it came down to it. "I know, and it's nice to know you care, but our neighbors will realize once they hear the howling what we've got going on in there. It can't stay secret forever."

"I know that," She admitted stiffly. "But apparently you seem to need reminding when something pretty walks into focus."

"To be fair it wasn't because he's pretty, it's because I got paid," Cady said as if she were telling a dirty secret. "They had a bet to see who'd find out what was going in the paddock first. I cut a deal 'cause he was laying it on thick."

"Uh," Stacey could only blink owlishly. "What?"

"Please," Cady scoffed as she abandoned the hanging strap to flop down into the window seat diagonal from Stacey. "I mean I understand we just met maybe two hours ago, but you really can't think I'd be swayed by some muscles and rugged good looks, did you?"

"You've called him handsome twice now," Stacey pointed out smugly.

"Well I'm not blind."

By that time, the monorail had slowed considerably alerting the two women to the fact it was pulling into another station— _Gallimimus Valley_ , according to the automated announcement. The conversation officially ended as a handful of tourists blundered their way into the empty compartment as the doors had opened. With the influx of people, Cady couldn't help but laugh as Stacey was forced to slide across her bench seat to the window as two kids made a move to block her in. The laugh quickly became covered by a series of short coughs as the Doctor shot her a sharp glare, Stacey's lips puckered and brow furrowed.

"What are you going to do the rest of the day?"

"Check out the rest of the park," Stacey said as if it were obvious. "I heard the Gyrospheres are the best attraction, there was an insane wait time yesterday so I didn't make it. You?"

Cady sighed, leaning her head back on the window. "If I'm honest, sleep. I'm exhausted, like the bone deep weariness. I didn't sleep well on the way here, and the time difference hasn't helped."

"Let me get this straight," Stacey began. "You're at number one travel destination in the world, for free, and you want to sleep? Have I got that right?"

"I'm tired?" The answer sounded weak to both women. "I figure if I'm going to be working here, then why let the magic of de-extinction wear off too early, yeah know?"

_I'm not sure if it will ever wear off._

Although not completely convinced, Stacey let it go opting for silence and to look out the window hoping to catch the sight of any of the grazing dinosaurs. Cady on the other hand, opted to close her eyes and attempt to block out the noise of the other passengers. She had been being honest, she was tired, and she had no real interest of exploring the park she'd be working in come the next month or so. It'd get old too fast; the raptor paddock would be enough to hold her over until Cady got her pack.

_How many they'll be, even like the Raptors or fewer? Will they all be girls?_

The longer she thought about, the more Cady fidgeted in her seat as she tried not to be obvious in her discomfort; in the end she managed to keep her nervousness to simply twisting her thumb ring. There still was the whole 'telling the parents' about her new job, one she was already contractually obligated to take. Cady was pretty certain making the trek to Mordor was less daunting than having to sit down at her parent's place in Georgia to tell them she was going to work among creatures who could, and would, eat her if given the chance. Not that she hadn't been working among them before, but wolves avoided people for the most part, there was less danger there. Sure, she'd raised pups for relocation into a pack, but potentially training some as if they were dogs? That was something she wasn't sure could ever happen, no matter how experienced of a trainer was trying to do it. Dire Wolves might be more likely to make a meal out of her than listen. She could already hear her mother crying at the idea of telling them.

_But if Grady and them can handle raptors, then it might be possible._

It was an empty reassurance, one that brought her to another unsettling topic: Owen Grady.

Cady wasn't blind, she knew the Raptor trainer was more than just a little bit attractive and the worse part about it was that the man knew it too. It'd be plainly apparent with how he'd acted towards her in the paddock, while usually she'd let it slide and enjoy it, Cady Starc did not enjoy being treated as if she were a fool who'd turn into a puddle of goo at the sight of a ruggedly good looking trainer making eyes at her. Even if they were green eyes with flecks of gold and hazel, or if he had forearms that could hold her up—

Nope, no, nada, Cady stopped those thoughts in their track. Shouldn't have agreed to a drink. Alcohol with someone like him is classic danger.

"Next stop: Gyrospheres."

The sound of the automated announcement knocked Cady from her thought as the people around her grew a bit more restless. There'd be an hour left until the monorail arrived back at the Resort, meaning that for Cady, she had way too much time left in the small confined space with too many people.

"Hey, give me your phone," Stacey asked, holding her hand out until Cady gave over her mobile. There was the sound of typing as her fingers moved quickly across the touch screen before the phone was returned. "My number, you know, just in case you need anything."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cady said shooting a small smile at she watched her new co-worker (friend?) stand, readying to get off at the station. Typing out a small message— _It's Starc_ —she pressed 'send' then lifted herself up, sliding her phone into her back pocket just as the doors opened. "Have fun in your hamster ball."

As some of the people began to exit, Stacey waited. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I'm good," Cady waved her off, making a shooing motion. "Go on."

With a nod and a wave, Stacey was all but pulled out of the compartment with the surge of tourists, leaving Cady alone at her window seat. Exhaling heavily, she forced herself into a more comfortable position, trying to ignore the French family who filled in the unoccupied seats and were chatting loudly. The next hour or so was going to be miserable, but pulled out of her phone to set an alarm then she closed her eyes anyway in an attempt to rest.

And she did, sort of.

While Cady prided herself on being able to fall asleep anywhere, she didn't quite fall into a deep sleep on the monorail. Instead, it was like falling somewhere between awake and sleep, not full aware of her surrounds but enough that she could hear French and Japanese coming from the families around her. Curled up against the window, she could feel each jostle of the monorail as it moved, and the change in its speed as each stop came and went. By the time she managed to fall in an uneasy rest with the rocking of the monorail, Cady's phone was blaring from her pocket, the vibration shocking her to full alertness.

"Next stop: Hilton Isla Nublar Resort."

Heaving herself up from her rather uncomfortable position on the bench seat, Cady moved stiffly towards the door, bones popping along the way, to stop before the compartment doors. As the monorail began to slow she grabbed one of the unused hanging straps, barely keeping herself from busting into the floor as they came to a complete stop. Then there was a ding, and quickly as the doors opened Cady was stepping out them, elbowing her way through the crowd of people waiting to board. From there it was easy to find her way to the Hilton since it was just mostly just following the flow of traffic, and reading signs.

It took ten minutes at the brisk, almost mission-like pace Cady had set out at until she entered the lobby of the Hilton. It took another five to check-in, and three to find her room on the 15th floor. The room itself wasn't anything special once she got inside, not when Cady had seen what the presidential suites looked like on the website. Taking a quick overview of the room it was clear it was nothing special, the windows faced the Lagoon, and beyond the simple night stands there was a dresser, coffee table and two chairs. The one bag she'd brought with her on the trip, and left with Zara earlier, was sitting neatly at the foot of the queen size bed.

Jerking her blazer off, Cady threw the piece of clothing onto the back of one of the chairs as she made her way to the window, undoing her boots as she went before closing the curtains. In the darkened room, she all but kicked off her boots while keeping just enough sense to set her phone alarmfor 7:15 before pulling back the covers on her bed, and crawling in. Curled up on her side under the sheets, it was just a few minutes before Cady was dead to the world.

**. . .**

"No, no. Oh god, no definitely not that."

Cady had slept for just shy of three hours and felt rather refreshed, or at least enough to where she didn't feel like an extra out of The Walking Dead. She'd taken a quick shower that was really more of a freezing rinse after opting not to wash her hair, choosing to continue using the dry shampoo she'd used for the last six months. Those decisions had been easy, but when it came to changing into clean clothes, well that's where Cady was having the problem. She'd given up trying to dig through her carry on bag, dumping it across the bed ten minutes ago had seemed like a much better move that she was beginning to regret.

"I'm over thinking this," she muttered picking up a pair of leggings with a frown. "It's not like this is a date. Nope. This is just definitely just a business transaction..."

It wasn't as if she had a lot to choose from seeing as her wardrobe for the last three years had consisted of nothing but sweats, leggings, tanks and the occasional dress clothes for meetings. In the end, she had decided on one of the nicer pair of black leggings she owned, a dark charcoal tunic that hung off the shoulder, and the same wedge boots she'd worn earlier that day. Her hair was done in a poor makeshift braid that had been redone three times until it looked suitable to be seen in public, then she was slowly making her way out of the room.

By the time Cady reached the lobby it was 8:15, and as she hovered around the elevator alcove Mister Owen Grady was nowhere in sight. Realizing that she hadn't actually taken into account how big the Hilton lobby was, or where the raptor trainer could find her, Cady picked a seat somewhere around the middle secretly glad he was later than she was. He seemed like the kind of person who'd enjoy lording that over someone who had specifically told him not to be late himself. Awkwardly trying to look busy, Cady pulled out her phone and couldn't help but blanche at the amount of missed messages and calls she had from both her parents, and friends. It wasn't that hard for her to delete the notifications, not willing to open that box of snakes just yet.

 _Nah_ , she deleted the last red notification. _Better to do it in person._

"Shit—ah, sorry, sorry."

The voice seemed to reverberate through the lobby, or maybe Cady was just listening specifically for his voice in the sea of tourists, because there he was trying to apologize to a very irate German couple. It was a funny sight, even though his back was to her, considering how the man had presented himself to her earlier, all pure confidence and smooth talking, reduced to being shouted at in the middle of the resort lobby, trying to get his apology across. Taking in the Raptor Trainer's attire—faded black looking board shorts, a white t-shirt and Nikes—Cady felt more comfortable in her leggings and oversized glorified shirt than she had five minutes ago. After another few seconds, she decided to take pity and made her way over, stifling her desire to giggle as she slunk up behind Owen.

"Uh, es…tut ihm uh, sehr leid?"

Her German was horrible, and her accent even more so, but the couple seemed to understand enough what Cady had been struggling to say. With a sneer and a huff, they pushed past both her and Owen heading out towards the park, leaving them in the middle of the lobby, unmoved.

"You're late."

"You speak German?" Owen asked, forehead a bit scrunched.

Cady shrugged. "A bit, enough to save you from being beaten by geriatrics. Money?"

"I thought we had agreed to a drink first?"

She frowned, but nodded reluctantly causing Owen to smile before they both started off towards the lobby bar at the opposite end. It wasn't as nice as the Origins Nightclub, but still one of the nicer establishments on the island simply because it was Hilton. Lucky for the pair it wasn't busy, and they easy snagged two seats at the end of the bar; Cady sitting with her back against the wall, and Owen next to her. Within a moment of sitting down, a bartender had appeared before them.

"What can I get you two? Oh hey, Owen, how's it going dude?"

"It's going, man. And we'll have two shots of Tequila—"

"Uh, no," Cady cut off barely giving Owen a second glance. Tequila and her were an absolute no-no after her freshmen year at college. "Could I just get a Balvenie Doublewood, neat?"

The bartender nodded, scurrying off as someone down the bar hailed him.

"You don't drink Tequila?" He actually sounded upset, as if she committed a cardinal sin.

"I'm not a college freshmen," she said as the bartender put down their drinks. "But that doesn't mean I haven't danced with the worm, we just…really don't get along. I like my whisky and bourbon, keeps me pretentious and classy."

Over the rim of her glass, Cady watched as Owen threw back his shot and him give a bit of a shake as the sharp sting of the Tequila hit. Turning the shot glass upside down on the bar top, Owen ordered a drink more suited for sipping: a bourbon on the rocks.

"I looked up Megafauna," he said suddenly. "I was right, it is a classification."

'He isn't some country bumpkin who's fallen off the truck.'

Suddenly Stacey's warning about Owen Grady's intelligence reared its ugly head. Swallow a large gulp of her whisky, Cady enjoyed the burning sensation that made its way down her throat to warm her belly. Turning her back fully to the wall, she sat sideways on her seat to look at him straight on, one arm draped over the high back of the chair.

"I also looked up you," He continued. "Google's pretty thorough when you know how to use it properly."

"True," Cady said unperturbed, propping one of foot on the bar's foot railing. "How do you think most kids make it through college?"

He ignored her attempt as deflection, pushing on after sipping his drink. "Your thesis was interesting, I'll grant you that, but I think it was the Seattle Times article that impressed me the most. What'd they call you again, the Girl That Runs With Wolves?"

Cady's jaw clenched. "If you read the article, why are you asking?"

"No need to get testy, I'm just curious," He answered, putting out his free hand in a manner similar to how Cady would show a frightened animal she meant no harm. "You don't seem like the kind of person that the suits would stick out near my girls."

"And what sort of person is that?"

As if he'd been waiting for the moment, he struck faster than a cobra, his eyes moving from her face to her right shoulder that was covered by her tunic.

"The kind who'd let their guard down around a predator and nearly get their throat ripped out."

Her teeth ground together, and her chest heaved though she made no move to disprove his statement. As if his words had flipped a switch, her shoulder seemed to burn, the muscle under the puckered skin suddenly all too tight. Cady took a deep swig, emptying her glass and letting the alcohol burn down her throat.

"The best lessons are always the ones that spill blood," she answered fighting the urge to rub the scarring under his gaze. "You never repeat the same mistake twice."

Owen gazed at her for a long moment, weighing her words before pulling up his right shirtsleeve to show her his bicep and the large but faint ragged scar that decorated it. "Afghanistan, winter 2005. On a night mission in the middle of nowhere a wolf caught me by surprise. Tried to rip my arm off."

"A wolf?" Cady raised an eyebrow, fighting the urge to let her fingers trace the vicious bite mark as he let his sleeve drop. "It's not unheard of but that's rare…it would have had to have been starving to be that desperate. You're lucky it wasn't a pack, otherwise you'd probably been done for."

"I thought I was. Doc thought the brachial artery had been severed because of all the blood."

"What branch were you then?" She asked after the bartender refilled her glass. "I mean, since you were in Afghanistan."

He smiled slightly, swirling the liquid in the glass.

"US Navy," he said. Then, "Where it pays to be a winner."

"A SEAL," Cady realized as she heard the motto. "Makes sense."

"You know your mottos, impressive."

"I should," she said as she picked up her refilled glass but didn't drink. "My father was a career in the 75th Rangers Regiment, West Point graduate. Army vs. Navy's in my blood."

"But not you?"

"Me? Oh no," Cady answered sounding a bit horrified at the thought. She'd gone down that road just far enough to make a quick U-turn. "I'm terrible at taking orders."

"Maybe, or maybe you've never had the right person issue them." Owen was rewarded with Cady nearly choking on a mouthful of whisky. As her throat burned from the alcohol, her glass was all but slammed down on the bar top as her mind filled in the blanks of his statement. "You alright?"

_Danger, Will Robinson, danger!_

"Uh, yeah," she answered after using the back of her hand to dry her mouth in lieu of a napkin. "Drink just went down the wrong way, that's all."

He didn't say a word to her rebuttal, but he smiled like the cat who'd caught the canary, languid and a tad bit giddy. Back to full confidence again he waved down the bartender.

"Jonathan—get us some food!"

From then on out, the conversation stayed in the realm of safety, nothing too deep, no more scars. The food was good, which made it all the worse when Cady realized that Owen had still gotten his way, somehow it'd gone from having a simple drink to a meal. One drink had suddenly turned into four, and the buzz had definitely hit. Everything felt warm and cozy as she sat slouched up against the wall listening to Owen retelling an experience with one of more determined Triceratops getting loose during transport. Soon enough it was just past 9 o'clock—marked with the month's firework display that Cady was sure could challenge Walt Disney World—and the bartenders announcing last call.

"Come on," Owen said after draining the last of his fourth drink, standing from his bar chair. "I'll walk you back to your room, She-Wolf."

Cady made a face as she stood. "Clever, have you been thinking about it all night?"

"The last thirty-five minutes or so," he smirked as his found the small of her back and began leading her out of the bar, waving at the bartender as they passed. "What floor on you on, light weight?"

"The fifteenth, and I'm not a lightweight," Cady insisted as they made their way through the lobby, towards the elevators. The duo didn't have to wait long once they reached the alcove, boarding an empty one immediately. Owen all but leaning over her to press the 'F15' button his hand slipping off the small of her back. "Alcohol is expensive, I've been poor for a good while."

He snickered. "You don't mince words, do you?"

"There really isn't a point," She shrugged looking up at him, her shoulders falling in a jerky manner. Her tongue felt heavy, and dry. "It's a fact, just like how I lived in a tent for nearly a year for my thesis."

"Yeah," he recalled faintly reading it. "The article did make a point to include that."

"That journalist had an agenda, you know?" Cady said, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall of the lift. Thinking about the bitch even now made her blood boil, and god was the floor moving or...? "They found out that she'd been paid by a private organization to write it. She was fired, but the damage had been done to the Haven."

Without having anything to respond back with, Owen just shook his head and gave a bit of a laugh as he watched her fidget. He was feeling a bit of a buzz as well, a bit of the warmth in his stomach but nothing like Cady. He was used to it, could hold his alcohol like a pro. The night definitely hadn't turned out like he had thought it would, but still he was…pleasantly surprised with how it had gone. It'd turned out well enough, and he definitely wouldn't mind doing it again. Cady Starc turned out to be more interesting than he'd initially thought, and he still didn't know what was going in her paddock. Well, at least he was still holding onto his $25.

"You still haven't told what's really going in your paddock," Owen pointed out in a last ditch effort as the elevator chimed and the doors opened. "A deal's a deal."

"I did, Mister-I-have-three-degrees," Cady taunted until she all but stumbled out of the elevator. Only Owen's quick reactions keeping her from hitting face first into the wall, but she continued as if the it hadn't even happened. "Guess you're not so clever, that's vindication."

The curiosity was eating away at him, but even buzzed she was a lockbox.

"Uh huh, let's just get you to your room, Wolf Girl." He retorted guiding them out. "Now, left or right?"

She didn't answer, instead choosing to take off, leaving Owen to trail behind. Within five minutes Cady had stopped in front of her door, and ended up wasting what seemed like fifteen minutes attempting to scan her wristband to unlock the door. On the fourth time scanning, the lock clicked and she made a small noise of success. Pushing it open, Cady reached an arm through the cracked opening to flick on the hallway light before turning back to Owen who was standing just behind her.

"Mister Grady, it's been," she said pausing, frowning lightly as she balanced against the open door. "Well, it's been memorable, and unprofessional. Let's not mention this, like ever."

"You're not gonna tell me," Owen sighed taking a step closer. "Are you?"

She hummed as if thinking. "That wouldn't be much fun, would it?"

"True, the chase is always the best part."

Cady was acutely aware that the possibility they were talking about the paddock was at a low 5%. But like her wolves, she was always fond of a bit of a brisk run even if it meant being chased. Smiling slyly, Cady stood on her tiptoes to lean into him, putting a hand on his chest to help her balance, only to move past his lips to graze his cheek to stop at his ear.

"Bye Owen," She said quietly, pulling back hastily to slide through the open door into her room. "See you in a month or so."

* * *

 

 **Author Note** : Apparently this was a formatting disaster, thanks to the anon over on tumblr for alerting me!

For chapter previews/soundtrack/graphics follow **[@deextinction](http://deextinction.tumblr.com) ** on tumblr.


	5. Waking

_"For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."_ – Rudyard Kipling

**August, two and a half weeks after leaving Isla Nublar**

The house was silent when Cady woke up, shifting onto her back to stare at the ceiling, the only noise stemming from the ceiling fan. Sure, her childhood mattress was comfortable, all she could think about was the bed at the Hilton. That had felt like sleeping on a cloud, light and soft, nothing like the mushy mattress she'd been in for the two and a half weeks. Blinking slowly, Cady yawned widely, then rolled onto her side as if to fall asleep again, curling into herself like a movable doll. The sunlight streaking through the wooden blinds of her window, however, planned otherwise. Sighing, Cady heaved herself up to the side of the bed, feet hitting the wooden floor with a light thump while she rubbed her knuckles onto her eyes.

After flying back from Costa Rica, she'd spent four days outside Seattle to pack up her gear and what few belongings she had there. The majority of the time had been spent just saying goodbye to the West coast, and her wolves that were being transferred to the Mid West. It had been easy, after packing everything into the bed of her Scout—three plastic waterproof storage bins and a surfboard covered by a tarp—to leave after promises to stay in touch; being a military brat with a Spartan lifestyle had its perks. It'd been just over forty-hours since she'd left Tenino after a few days of packing and prep, and on the entire way East towards Georgia she'd only stopped to eat and sleep when absolutely needed.

Leaning over to check her phone, the clock read 9:14AM, still the perfect time for coffee. Pulling on a pair of shorts, Cady began the trek down to the kitchen, her limbs popping she went. Zeus and Max, the Golden Retrievers of the house, didn't even stir as she stepped over them while heading straight for the coffee machine. Pouring in the beans and then the water, waiting impatiently for it to finish the same way she had for every morning since arriving. Her routine had been about the same for the last two weeks while at her parents'; sleeping in until about 8AM (something she was dearly going to miss), and going for a run around the property before her mother dragged her off to somewhere or another (on what Cady was fairly certain were 'Husband Hunts'), all highlighted by dodging the question of employment. It was tiresome to be a coward.

"Seems I wasn't the only one to escape your mother's clutches this morning."

Cady jumped, whirling around at the voice with the spoon in her hand clattering to the floor loudly. The noise spooked the dogs that scattered, giving a few barks of annoyance while Cady glared at her father who was leaning on the kitchen bar top, amug and newspaper in front of him. Oliver Starc was a man with an imposing presence, and it wasn't from his height. Standing at just less than 6", 1st Lieutenant Oliver Starc had wide shoulders and hands that could (and in all reality, probably had) kill a lesser man. His default facial express was nothing less than severe annoyance and, like his wife, was all dark features with close cut brown, almost black salt and pepper hair.

"Jesus Christ," she groaned shooting her father a looking then picking up the fallen utensil. Frowning she wiping off with her sleep shirt, magically clean. "You need a fucking bell, Lieutenant, I swear."

"Language," he warned in a tone that was nothing but joking as he took a seat. He sound of the newspaper crinkling was heard as he brought it up to read.

_Who even reads physical newspapers nowadays?_

"I learned everything from you," she muttered sullenly her attention back on her now full cup of coffee, adding sugar and creamer. Pushing off the counter with mug in hand she all but moseyed her way to the counter island to stand across from her father, by the sink. Taking a bit gulp of the hot liquid, then asking, "How'd you get out of brunch at the Club?"

"Said I wanted to bond with my daughter," He said without looking up. "Which we should, since you said you were seeing about a job but haven't mentioned it yet."

"It went fine?" Cady said after spitting out the mouthful of hot coffee she'd taken. She needed a better answer. "I didn't want to upset mom, she's so convinced I'm going to work for you and Daystorm again. Or that I'm going to marry some random dude she introduces me to…"

"Cut the shit, Cadence Olivia Starc." He was 1st Lieutenant Starc then. The use of her full, formal legal name making her feel like she was nine again and she'd set the Persian rug on fire. Then in a much calmer, but still no-nonsense tone: "Now, what organization did you interview for?"

"Masrani Global."

_Not technically lying, but technically still a piece of shit._

He shot her a stern look, laying the newspaper down on the bar top. "I wasn't aware Masrani Global needed someone with expertise in canines."

"He's diversify his portfolio," she supplied with a shrug.

"His portfolio is diverse enough," her father countered, taking a sip of his coffee before continuing. "So, you'll imagine my surprise when I got a call from a old friend over at Fort Meade saying that my daughter had left the country for Costa Rica."

"You seriously don't have us red tagged, do you?" Cady asked incredulously, putting the mug down sharply. "That's—"

_Give you the rope, and let you hang yourself. That always was his favorite course of action._

"Is how a person like me makes sure his family is safe," he interrupted sharply. "Did you accept the position?"

"It's 60k a year with full benefits and a signing bonus," she muttered, deliberately looking anywhere but him. "What do you think, Lieutenant?"

"You're telling your mother tonight," Oliver said shaking his head, taking his mug back up. "And get ready to spend the rest of your free time here at the range. You were a shit shot the last time you were here, if you're going through with this then I want to know you're be able to hit a bottle cap."

"Honestly you're taking better than I'd thought…" She said more than a little confused. "I thought you'd be furious."

Oliver didn't answer anything her for what felt like a long time, choosing to take a drink from his mug and get his thoughts into order so he wouldn't fuck up. He knew better than anyone when a Starc made a decision, there was a better chance at changing the direction of the wind than the chosen course.

"You're my daughter," He began, then amended quickly, "My only daughter. Am I disappointed with how you've handled this whole situation? Yes. Would I rather you told me? Sure, but you're an adult. I'm your father, not you're CO. You get to make your own choices, and your own mistakes. I just hope you can live with them."

"You been thinking on that for awhile then?" Cady deflected the seriousness with humor.

"Eat something, get changed," He said standing from the bar, pinning her with a look, knowing exactly what she tried to do. "Meet me in five by the farmhouse. You're in training."

_Ugh_.

That kitchen exchange set the tone for the rest of the day, which was spent at the so-called range by the dilapidated farmhouse on the backside of the property with the Lieutenant attempting to make Cady the next Annie Oakley. They'd been shooting for well over three hours when she managed to quick look at her watch. Much too long to be outside in Georgia, Cady seemed to be cooking; her much too long hair sticking to her neck despite being pulled up in a knot of a bun, with her shirt more than damp from sweat, and when the occasional drip found its way into her eyes they burned. The deafening sound had driven off all the wild life around the makeshift range, each loud pop signifying when she pulled the trigger.

"No, no, no. _Squeeze_ , Cady, don't pull. No wonder why you're missing the bull's-eye!"

Though Cady could barely hear her father's complaints through the earplugs, she understood the gist well enough. Rolling her eyes as she racked the slide, making sure the chamber was empty then ejecting the empty magazine from the 9mm, nearly throwing the gun down on the table nearby as she pulled out the neon orange earplugs.

"I'm squeezing the fucking trigger," She growled rolling her shoulder as she turned towards her father. She swung her arm towards the paper target set up a few yards away, "If _that_ was a person they'd be tissue paper now."

It wasn't that Cady was a terrible shot—she most definitely wasn't—but she wasn't up the level that Oliver believed she needed to be. The paper target down the way was riddled with holes all clustered in what would have been considered kill zones, with very few marking the outer rings. He wasn't worried about stationary targets though, the plan had been for the day to be more of a refresher course before moving on to what she needed to improve on. Moving targets always did her in, being rushed made her miss by centimeters, he knew his daughter didn't work well under pressure.

"You think an animal is going to stay stationary long enough for you get to a shot off? No, they won't," He said, fitting the 9mm Cady had thrown down into its lockbox. "We're done for today. This was just a refresher, so I could isolate what you need to tweak."

"You know they have an entire department for containment," Cady pointed out snidely.

"Non-lethals," Her father nodded. He locked the box quickly, picking it up and beginning their walk back towards the house. The trail back was well worn, clear of any grass or weeds showing its use by the household. "I've read. They use high-grade tasers to debilitate the animal, we helped develop the tech while you were at Daystorm, you know."

Cady frowned. "I didn't know you guys did work with Masrani."

"We don't, but on occasion we do work with In-Gen," he confirmed. "You're going to tell your mother tonight, she's making a roast. The longer you wait the worst she's going to take it"

As they reached the back of house, the pair stopped looking at the kitchen windows. Cady could clearly see her mother bustling around from counter top to cabinet making the night's meal. Sighing heavily, she leaned into her dad's side causing him to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm a terrible daughter, aren't I?"

Cady felt him shake his head more than saw it. "No, you just don't want to hurt her."

Still makes me feel like shit.

**.  .  .**

Sophia Starc neé Gallo was the epitome of a modern Southern beauty with all the dark features of her Italian heritage from the Gallo line. Olive skin, black hair the color of ink lightly littered with silvered grey, off set by wide set Chartreuse colored eyes, and a large jawline paired with dimples that Cady herself had inherited, Sophia was a stunning beauty in her mid-50s. When Cady had been younger, her mother definitely had channeled the wicked 1950s housewife vibe, but now she seemed to most of her time at the local country club socializing. Even though her daughter had been home for nearly three weeks, Sophia had waited until throwing a welcome home dinner—one that the Lieutenant had managed to talk down to just being family.

"You know, it's lovely that you're home," Sophia said after they'd all taken their seats around the dinning table. "After everything that's happened…well, I'm just glad you're home safe with us and in one piece."

_And the worst daughter award goes to me,_ Cady thought as she loaded her plate with veggies, _I'm the worst. I'm fucking trash._

Conversation moved smoothly from there, though mostly because Cady busied herself with eating. If her mouth was full she couldn't fuck anything up, or that's what she told herself as she felt her father's eyes burning into her skull. She was listening half-heartily to whatever her mother was talking about, something about coyotes on the news, nodded when needed to prove she was paying attention.

"You never know, Soph," Oliver spoke up at the head of the table watching his daughter stay busy tucking food as if she hadn't eaten in a week. "Cadydid here might already have a job, she had an interview a few weeks back, remember?"

"Oh?" Sophia raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Why is this only the first time I'm hearing about this?"

"I, uh, didn't know if was a sure thing," Cady answered after swallowing a particularly large bite of chicken. The lies just seemed to roll off her tongue. "But they offered it to me the position yesterday, and I uh, accepted."

"And what reservation has hired you?" Sophia speech dripped with contempt, it really was no secret she thought her daughter was above playing with animals. "I thought you were going to work for your father at Daystrom."

Cady took a deep drink from her wine glass, her dad shooting her a look that clearly screamed 'tell her, now!' It was time to rip the Band-Aid off, but honestly she was so good at avoidance, why couldn't she just send a postcard later? Something like 'Hello from paradise—By the way, I work at Jurassic World incase the postcard photo didn't give it away!' would work wonderfully…if she wanted to be disowned.

_Time to rip the band-aid off._

"No, I was never going back to Daystorm or marrying any of the random men you've introduced me to in the last week and half,"—okay maybe this was too severe because her mother was loosing color quickly—"As of September, I'm going to be an official employee for Masrani Global at Jurassic World."

Yeah, she definitely could have float that whole 'working at a place we're you're not the top of the food chain but simply in it' a bit easier. Her mother dropped the fork and knife she'd be holding, the sound of the utensils clattering onto the china plate reverberated throughout the room. In the back of Cady's mind, she couldn't help but think of the movie **The Hurt Locker** and how it felt like she was staring down an IED, just trying not to set her mother off.

Of course the explosion was inventible.

"You did what?" It was a rhetorical question apparently, because her mother pushed on, her voice raising an octave. "After everything your father and I have gone through, you take a job at that, that place?!"

Money? "It's a once in a lifetime experience—"

The answer only seemed to enlarge her mother more.

"Yes, once in a lifetime because you could die! I already had to see you in a hospital bed once because some mangy dog tried to rip your throat out! Do you know what it was like to get that phone call in the middle of the night? To be told that my only daughter was bleeding out in the snow and that you might not make it?!" When Cady didn't answer, Sophia's head wiped around to stare at her husband, who had remained silent throughout the whole exchange. "And you, I don't suppose you had no idea about this?"

"Cady told me earlier," Oliver admitted as he leaned on his elbows, chin sitting on his clasped hands. "She's an adult, Sophia, and she's old enough to make her own choices. Even when I don't agree with them."

That was apparently the wrong response because Sophia pushed her chair back—the legs ripping across the wooden floors—then aggressively yanking her plate and glass from the table. She stalked into the kitchen, throwing everything into the sink, the sound of breaking china and glass filling the air. Shooting an exasperated look to her father at the end of the table, Cady slid out of her seat and followed her mother's path. As she walked into the kitchen, she was greeted with the sight of her mother violently scrubbing pans at the sink, her hair spilling out of its bun.

"See, this is why I didn't tell you," Cady said attempting to keep the conversation going. "And you can't really blame me, you've treated me like a child since the accident."

Her mom didn't budge, didn't stop her scrubbing when she finally replied.

"I would really rethink anything else you're about to say to me, Cadence." Sophia's tone was low, even, completely controlled letting Cady know she was way past angry, and into the realm of nuclear armageddon. "Because if I continue this conversation now, I'm going to say something I regret. Just go."

Cady went to say more, only to be stopped by a light pressure on her elbow as her father appeared behind her in the doorway. He made a slight shooing motion before walking past her, deeper into the kitchen. Huffing, Cady turned on her heel and went to the front staircase, heading to her room. Whatever issue her mother had with her new job her father would hopefully attempt to smooth over—if he didn't end up sleeping in the guest room himself.

Dark enough for a lamp, Cady flicked on the over head lamp once she reached her bedroom, shutting the door tightly behind her before she shuffled her way to her old desk. She pushed some clothes off the chair before plopping down, turning on her Macbook hoping to get back to some research as she waited for Stacey to Skype her back. Unlike Cady, Stacey had begun working at Nublar only a few days ago—apparently she was important to the nutritional development plan for the pups—which the Doctor had no problem filling Cady in about. So they had kept in contact, becoming more friends than co-workers while sharing information and developing a plan of attack together. Sure, she wasn't technically starting work until September, but that didn't stop her from working with Stacey, or getting some light reading from different contacts in the field. The most important piece of research had come through four different back channels by a Russian animal behaviorist Sergei Dorofeyev who had attempted to train wild wolves. It was a failure, of course, but some of the few breakthroughs he'd had were helpful.

 

> _You can't impose your will on it, because it's a wild animal. You can't expect it to act like a dog, even though you succeed in teaching it the most basic commands. For every success, there are two or three set backs—_

Cady's reading was interrupted with the Skype request popping up ( _Stacey Grant calling: Accept?_ ) staring her right in the face breaking her concentration. The alert blinked steadily until she clicked accept, then the scanned report disappeared as the program opened slowly. A few seconds passed before a webcam view of Stacey's face, and new employee condo, filled the monitor.

"Hey!" Stacey called with a wave while she got comfortable, legs tucked up underneath her. "How's it going stateside? Have you dropped the bomb?"

"You'd think I'd just dropped an atomic bomb at dinner," Cady admitted. "And it definitely didn't go well."

Stacey frowned. "Describe 'not well'."

"Well, my dad's arming me like I'm going to war, and I don't think my mother is going to speak to me again," She explained with a bitter edge, fidgeting with a pen. "So…pretty sucky."

"I think that's pretty normal for Georgia," Stacey said, causing Cady to laugh lightly. "But I'm sorry that happened, but maybe you hadn't waited so long."

"I know, I know," Cady confessed, running her hands through her hair. "My fault, really. But honestly, I'm an adult. My mother shouldn't have such a strong reaction to some of my choices."

"Who is currently living in her parents house, in her childhood room?"

"Alright, anyway!" Cady exclaimed, more than ready to move to business. "Did you get the documents I put in the Dropbox?"

Stacey nodded, moving what sounded like papers off camera but clicking around on her laptop.

"Yeah, they were actually super helpful to me and the Nutritional Department. They've tweaked the milk formal to have increased arginine, I'm sending you the report now," she dragged out, clicking a few keys before shooting the attachment off. "There are a few other things I got from straight ACU about, well, containment of the pack throughout their growth. I put the documents in the Dropbox, I don't know if you can see them or—"

"No, I can definitely see them," Cady interrupted. A deep frown settled on her face the longer she looked over the schematics. It was like looking over something out of history torture textbook with no understanding of animal behavior. "I'm looking at them right now, actually. Have you had a look at these?"

"I saw them, and I know they're a bit…extreme, but we've got to have something. Third proposal is the one they seem to be pushing for, it seems like the best bet, at least you can control it."

The file name was FENRIR-0345, but as Cady looked over the schematic, it really could have been just titled 'The Collar.' It reminded her of the electric fence collar worn by dogs to keep them in the yard, but all the more dangerous. The materials proposed were something of a high grade, military thermoplastic—something she was pretty sure Daystorm produced—with a voltage high enough to do serious injury to a person. A shock collar for Dire Wolves, honestly she wasn't even surprised, Jurassic World needed to know (feel?) like they had control at all times, even if it meant using a remote controlled collar. Still, better than the muzzles or whatever the fuck the first schematic had tried to be. At least there was plans for a wrist control only one person (her?) would posses.

_They'd have to wear this all the time once they're younglings…_

"You were right, tell ACU the collar is the one we want," Cady decided as she closed the files, her monitor flickering back to Stacey who was eating. "Have we found out who's in charge of the paddock interior cameras? Or how even to get some more put up?"

"'Es, I 'id," Stacey mumbled with a mouth full of food. Grimacing, she swallowed quickly while putting down her bowl. "Sorry, and yes I did. Well, I found someone who knew someone who could help us. He's in Control, Lowery. I ran into at the Employee Canteen, and he helped me out. We've got uh, 5 more cameras inside now?"

Cady made a face. "A random just happened to help you out?"

"…Yes?"

"Stacey," While Cady sounded solemn, though the smug smile on her face was anything but. It was nice to be able to throw Stacey's own words back at her, "Did something pretty walk into focus?"

"Ugh, see I'm hanging up!" Stacey cried, pretending to close her laptop. If the webcam had been higher quality, Cady would have seen the light blush across her face. "But seriously, no, no, nothing like that. God, when did we get to this point? Weren't we talking about work?"

"We were, but then you brought up Lowery," Cady drawled out the name for exaggeration, enjoying how her friend squirmed. "Those topics are like a vampires meaning you have to invite them in, and sorry friend, but you opened the door wide open."

"You're the worst, can we get back to topic now?"

"Fine, what else is there?"

"Just me reminding me you to call the moving company to ship your stuff earlier," Stacey explained in a bored tone. She picked up her bowl and began picking at the food, but didn't begin to eat. "My stuff just arrived and it's been near a week. You send your stuff now, it should be all ready for you when you arrive at the end of the month."

"I don't even have that much, honest." Cady rolled her eyes, sinking deeper into the chair. "Just two large storage bins, and my truck. You think it'd take that long?"

"Prior planning prevents fuck ups," Stacey shrugged lightly. "I think President Washington said that."

Cady didn't even try to cover up the snort as she began to laugh.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**September 2013, Isla Nublar**

The trip to Costa Rica was vastly different the second time around for Cady than her initial visit had been. She hadn't left abruptly without a word to anyone, the Lieutenant had seen her off at the airport; her mother still giving her the silent treatment that had stretched out the last three weeks of her stay. Not even her husband could make her budge, and after sleeping in the guest room for a week Cady had asked him to stop trying. So, just her father saw her off with a kiss on the cheek and a hug so tight she was sure he'd left her ribcage bruised (there was also the early gifts of his personal service weapon, and a Sat phone loaded with numbers "just in case," but both had been shipped ahead of her).

She wasn't flying First Class like before either, instead she was flown Coach; Instead of taking the tourist ferry to Isla Nublar, Cady had been instructed to take the Night Chaser, the freighter that restocked the island on a bi-weekly basis and apparent employee transport. It seemed to have taken twice as long to get anywhere, the time change throwing her for a loop as she left from the airport to boarding the freighter almost immediately. It was really all a race against time after receiving the panicked, caplocked text from Stacey— _WHERE ARE YOU? PUPS DUE!_ —only to be stuck on a boat that moved slower than molasses in winter. It hadn't been 65 days, but something told Cady that Dr. Wu and Jurassic World had already been incubating the wolves well before she took the job. It was a disconcerting thought, how far they apparently planned ahead.

But, as disconcerting as that was it was pushed to the back of Cady's mind as the Night Chaser leisurely docked. She was left waited anxiously by the disembarking gate while the rest of in-bound employees stayed inside in the lounge. In spite of the heat—and god, it was hot—she just couldn't stay still which left her outside, bouncing on the balls of her feet and gripping the railing like a lifeline. Down on the dock, she could just make out Stacey standing by a park golf cart ATV waving like a mad woman. Fifteen minutes later, once the gangplank had been connected, Cady was all but sprinting, her weekender bag thrown over her shoulder and her Converse thumping as she jumped onto the wooden dock. When she reached Stacey, whom was turning on the cart, she bent over with hands on her ribs trying to breathe through the stich in her side.

"Are…we…too late?" Cady wheezed as she climbed into the cart, her bag going between her legs. As soon as she sat down, they were zipping off; the cart had more power than she would have expected.

"Nearly," Stacey answered without looking over at her as the pair entered under a raised security gate without stopping. As if knowing what Cady was going to ask, Stacey continued. "I had Lowery alert security that we had a Hatchery Emergency. They'll be waving us through."

_Oh the mysterious Lowery strikes again. Should get the guy a fruit basket._

"How many are there?" Cady asked, glossy over the mention of the Control tech. She was more interested in her pups than some random guy. "You said six in the beginning right?"

"There's four now," She answered, sighing as they took a tight right turn. "Somehow the incubation failed with two last week, they're not really sure why last time I poked around. I guess there's always a rate of failure with doing something new? Especially since our girls aren't hatching, they're technically live births."

"I know it's bad to say but I'm kinda of glad." Cady admitted with slight guilt as they passed another security gate, coming up to a rather non-descript building labeled HATCHERY. "Six would have been impossible. Four at least seem at least manageable."

"We're here," Stacey said parking the cart roughly, leaving the key in the ignition as they both hopped out. She led the way, Cady following her lead as they entered the facility after showing their IDs to security. The air-conditioning hit them both like a tsunami, a nice reprieve from the humid weather outside. Unlike the Hatchery shown to the tourist, the real work was happening in this three story building. "And just don't tell anyone else that, they need their delusions."

It took going up a staircase and through another three security door (all four which cemented to Cady the high level of security she was dealing with) for them reached the designated 'F LAB—LEVEL FOUR' area. While the hatchery down below had been advanced, the so-called F Lab was even more so, with various stasis tanks and what Cady could only assume were something of water incubation tanks lining the walls and mounted tables. There were various monitors, all running and beeping in near tandem, the wires sprouting out of them all form the top, they reminded her of some terrible plant turned upside. Nothing in the tanks were discernible from the next, the objects inside were all half shaped or deformed, nothing looking complete, the puzzle unfinished.

_That is only slightly disturbing._

"Oh good, you've both made it just in time, they're just about to wake up." The familiar voice greeting them ripped Cady's eyes away from the tanks to a white lab coat dressed Dr. Wu. "We weren't sure you were going to make it imprint, Miss Starc."

He moved slightly to the right, the table behind him clearly to be seen as the women moved in for a better look. There were four isolette set up in a row, each eerily reminding Cady of those used for preemie babies although far more cutting-edge and just slightly different. She washed her hands quickly, then took the pair of blue latex gloves offered to her by a faceless tech, snapping them on with earnest, her eyes never leaving the cases. While they looked larger than an average pup, they also each looked like a giant wad of cotton.

"We're going to wake them up one a time," Dr. Wu explained beside her though Cady hardly noticed. "It will give you a few minutes to with each to establish the initial bond, or imprint. After we'll move them the F Lab Isolation—"

"No," Cady interjected her eyes breaking from the table to look the man. Behind her, Stacey shifted awkwardly, having known before hand the argument was going to come up. "They're going to be blind, and deaf when they wake and for the first week. After that, I'm going to have to stay with them for the first eight weeks, at least. They don't imprint suddenly and that's it. Wolves, no matter if they're Dire or not, have to spend at least sixteen weeks with their human trainer to bond properly in place of Alpha."

"I'm afraid that's impossible. ACU has strict regulations for the containment of all assets."

"Then you can tell Miss Dearing that this project has already failed," She shrugged. "I've read everything available on every program that's attempted to train simple wolves, Dr. Wu. And after speaking to most of those people who've failed, the program broke down at the fundamental level. Give me what I need and I'll give you exactly what you all want."

There was a pause before he answered.

"I'm sure we can work something out," He said slowly and with just a little bit of contempt. "Now, if we could move on with the waking."

Smiling, Cady moved around to the far side of the table, dropping her weekender bag by her feet as she stepped up to the first isolette. Directly across from her stood Stacey, a small notebook open and a pen in hand waiting to write down whatever important information came up. There was the sound of air leaking, and a few high-pitched whirls from the container.

"F-001 weighs 1.33kg," Dr. Wu read from a flat screen beside them, his eyes jumping up to Cady. "As soon as they're weighed, you may put your hand in for them. 001 is done."

"That's bigger than a regular Gray Wolf," Cady commented offhandedly to Stacey who was scribbling away.

Without much more to do, she moved open the small planned slit and placed her hand in. The Dire pup might have been less than three pounds, but she was so small. Her coat was black as pitch, contrasting starkly against Cady's own pale skin and her hair soft like silk. Despite just being "woke," as Dr. Wu called it, she wasn't as lethargic as Cady would have thought. She reacted well to the stimuli, her small head pushing up against the palm of Cady hand, before attempting to nip at her fingers even though she lacked teeth. Almost mechanically did she narrate her thoughts to Stacey, who was writing judicially, though maybe recording everything would have been better, but no doubt Wu and the techs were recording everything.

_You're already going to be a handful, aren't you?_

"Hella," Cady said once she'd finished narrating her thoughts on 'F-001'.

Stacey looked up, her pen stilling. "What?"

"Her name, Goddess of the Underworld. We just can't keep calling them F-001 or whatever. That'd be dumb," She explained while reaching down with her freehand down into her weekend bag, pulling out strips of one of her old worn shirts placing it gently inside the small space, surrounding Hella. Cady didn't need to look up to know Stacey was wondering what she was doing.

"It's for scent," she explained. "They may be blind and deaf, but they can smell and they're going to know my scent before they can see."

"Ah."

Cady spent another few minutes with her hand on Hella, before slowly withdrawing from the isolette. Hella's high-pitched, panicked cries could be heard as they moved on to F-002. After pulling a wade of shirt strips onto the table, she moved to the right. The same process repeated: sounds of air leaking, and a few high-pitched whirls from the container indicating the system was weighing.

"F-002 weighs 1.06kg."

Smaller than her sisters, but no less soft, F-002 was a white ball of cotton with light grey smattering down her back. From what Cady could tell, there was what looked like charcoal black tracing about her eyes, much like a crème Golden Retriever. Yanking a piece of shirt from her arm, she put it in the isolette like she had with Hella, watching the small thing curl up into it sluggishly.

"She's not as active as her sister, reacting normally I'd think; blind and deaf, no signs of aggression like Hella—F-001. Adorable really, I think she'll turn out stark white like an Arctic Wolf," Cady said her thumb lightly rubbing the scalp. "You pick the name."

There was a pause before Stacey answered. "Iris, Greek messenger of the gods."

"I like it."

The third pup, F-003, was an almost reddish gold in coat, her weight falling between both her sisters at a cool 1.15kg. She was just as lethargic as Iris, barely stirring beyond pushing into Cady's hand as she pet her. The most impressive movement coming after the shirt had been added to the tank, when she burrowed under the fabric as if it were a blanket.

"Nike?" Stacey suggested when Cady didn't give a name.

"Sure," she laughed, withdrawing her hand. "I just hope we get sponsored by them."

"F-004 weighs 0.85kg."

"The runt," Cady muttered sliding her hand through the slat.

At that weight she was surprised the pup had even survived if two of her sisters had died. She was much smaller than her siblings, had Cady wanted too, she could have wrapped her whole hand around her with some finger room to spare. Like Hella, she was black as night, save for a burst of white on her chest like a splat of paint. She barely even moved as Cady ran her finger pointer finger down her spin gently, the only sign she was even breathing coming from the light movement of the ribcage. Cady had saved the largest shirt strip for last, and as she laid it inside the isolette the poor thing gave a cross between a whine and a huff before stilling under the shirt. It was completely endearing and adorable, the frailest of the bunch wedge her way into Cady's heart just a bit more than the other three.

_Is this what new parents feel like?_

F-004's name was easy to pick.

"Diana," She muttered quietly, only to loudly repeat herself. "Diana, that's her name."

"Hella, Iris, Nike, and Diana," Stacey mused looking over the isolettes. "Good names for a pack."

"Nah," Cady shook her head. "Good names for our pack."

* * *

**Author Note** : There we have it, the walking cotton balls have been introduced (but no Owen) but yas pack family!

It was fun invented a sequence of how 'waking' animals not born from eggs would go, I feel like the lab would have had to be totally redone for something like live births considering nothing hatches. That'd be fun. My portrayal of Dr. Wu is kinda eh right now, mostly cause I feel like he think he's above everyone at Jurassic World (cause he's got a god complex) so having Cady pretty much telling him it's her way or failure would rub him the wrong way.

For chapter previews/soundtrack/graphics follow [**@deextinction**](http://deextinction.tumblr.com) on tumblr


	6. Feed

**Author Note** : I'm trash because I promised to an anon on tumblr that I'd post this Saturday and it's Sunday. Sorry! I wrote myself into a corner and had to figure out where to go. This chapter was already so hard for me because I had writer's block and the summer flu. U GH.

'Not trying to be pushy' anon: This chapter goes out to you, I'm sorry I'm trash and I lied to you ok?

* * *

 

 _"She is a rainstorm and you are a shipwreck."_ – M.J. Pearl, _Silver Bullets_

After the waking of the pack and a few more tests, Wu had summarily dismissed the two women from the F Lab floor. He'd used an excuse that the animals need rest, and the lab they were being moved into needed to be sterilized, not that Cady believed a word of it. He promised them, almost begrudgingly, 24/7 access to the project's designated labs—F LAB 1, and F LAB 2—after the 48 hours quarantine (otherwise referred to as Health Hold) that he swore were "critical" to making sure the subjects survived. Until then, the feeding would be done via automation, leaving Cady without much to do as Stacey gushed about the new prospect.

"Their size is insane!" Stacey burst out enthusiastically she drove. The Hatchery had long been left behind as the ATV cart zoomed its way to the outer sector the park, towards the bungalow area. "Going off that alone, the growth rate should be nearly double that of a regular Gray and Arctic wolf."

"If their growth rate is accelerated so is their metabolism." Cady frowned slightly asking, "What about the feeding formula?"

Stacey didn't answer right away, instead leaning over as she drove to dig through her bag. After a minute, she pulled out the notebook she'd been writing in earlier. Without looking she lightly tossed it into Cady's lap.

"Tenth page in," she remembered after a moment. The ATV cart gave a bit of a jolt as the asphalt turned to dirt. "The techs in Nutrition upped the protein complex along with the arginine. It's nearly three times of what normal formula for a wolf would be. If that isn't enough for them, then we're in trouble."

"Thank god," Cady drawled while flipping open the notebook to the page. She understood about half of it, picking out words or sentences among the scientific gibberish. She'd always been terrible at STEM subjects, barely passed her way through required science courses in university. Looking up as she closed the notebook, Cady remarked, "We'll need to set up a schedule. Something like an AM and PM shift maybe?"

The light jungle that surrounded them as the ATV drove down the road had begun to wear away. The trees and underbrush bleeding away to flat grass on the right, showcasing a small intercostal waterway that led out to the North Pacific Ocean. Dotted along the coast were the wood built bungalows, each spaced about fifty or so yards apart, separated by jungle overgrowth and high grass. It was enough space to not be living on top of each other, but close enough to feel neighborly. If Cady remembered HR's last email correctly hers was designated Bungalow 5, and the last built in the sample series.

Stacey nodded. "I think that'd be the best bet, otherwise we'll end up living there."

_Nobody wants that, not until the paddock at least._

The ATV cart began to steadily slowing down as they passed the third bungalow, and by the fourth the cart had settled into a crawl. Slow enough for Cady to get a good look at her closest neighbor that had what looked like an Airstream built into the side from what she could see. It was a bit cluttered on the outside too, tools and bits all over. Shaking her head, her attention was pulled away as soon as Bungalow 5—apparent by the large storage container sitting in front of it that she'd packed stateside—came into view. The cart came to a stop at the base of the bungalow steps, the sudden halt jerking the two women in the seats.

"Shit, sorry!" Stacey apologized. She didn't park, choosing instead to just put the cart in park. "You sure you don't need any help?"

"Nah," Cady assured her as she stepped out of the cart. Digging around for a moment before finding her key ring she hoisted the bag over her shoulder. "I'm pretty Zen, don't have much to unpack."

"Then why the large storage container…?"

"Had to get my truck here somehow," Cady pointed out as it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Didn't you say you owed the Wizard tonight or something anyway?"

"Stop calling him that, he's got a big enough complex—" Stacey stopped mid sentence, her eyes seeming to grow to the size of a china plate. "I do, what time is it? I'm supposed to meet him at 5:30."

"4:15," Cady supplied glancing at her phone. Knowing that it'd taken nearly fifteen minutes to get out in the boondocks, both women knew she'd need to leave soon. "You're good if you leave now."

"Well, I mean if you're sure. I kinda hate just leaving you—"

"I'm positive I don't need help," Cady made a shooing motion with her hands. "Get."

"Alright, alright!" The tone was something of a cross between humorous and exasperated, an emotion that was becoming incredibly entangled with Starc the more the doctor worked along side her, as she finally conceded. Putting the cart into drive and slowly began pulling away, throwing her goodbye over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow morning!"

After a few moments of giving an awkward wave, the cart was out of Cady's sight leaving her standing out in the afternoon sun alone. Sighing she bounded her way up the wooden staircase, key ring in hand and her bag over her shoulder. There was no point unloading the storage container at the moment, not when she really hadn't seen the inside space because despite seeing the floor plans from HR, she needed to see it. With each step, the bleached wooden planks creaked under her added weight, not exactly inspiring confidence that she wouldn't fall through anytime soon. She moved to unlock the door once as soon as she could, not willing to stand outside longer than necessary.

The lock turned smoothly enough, the handle needing a bit of a caught, but she had to throw her shoulder into the door to make it open, stumbling forward from her momentum. It wasn't stuffy like she would have thought, the air wasn't stale, making Cady believe someone had at least come around to clean it every once and while. It was so bright with all the light streaming in from the window that took up most of the front wall she chose to keep her sunglasses on while her eyes adjusted. She knew the U-shaped layout: the kitchenette was left to the front door, the small living area ahead with the bedroom alcove to the right, the bathroom inside that area with a door leading back into the kitchenette. It was like living in a dorm again, but nicer with free furniture, and without a roommate.

Picking up her bag, Cady made her way through the bungalow towards the bedroom alcove where she dropped it on the brand new, plastic wrapped mattress. The walls were beige and nothing exactly impressive, white tile covered the floor from the kitchenette to the bathroom, while the rest of the bungalow had worn, somewhat scratched wood floors that looked freshly waxed. The furniture—from the small bistro table to living furniture, desk and tall chest of drawers—seemed brand new, and they probably still were. There were two more windows besides the one taking up the front wall, one in the bedroom and another in the living, and none of them had blinds.

"Because who would want privacy," she muttered with a huff. "Awesome."

It was an easy enough fix, and if that was her biggest problem then Cady had nothing to complain about. So she ignored it, leaving the bungalow in ten swift steps, yanking the keys from the door's deadbolt and setting about to unload what she packed away. Unlocking the padlock, she gave the handle of the steel roll up a firm yank, letting it slide up with a loud clank. Inside was her black Scout looking the same as the day Cady and her father had tied it down in the container back in Georgia. Within five minutes she had the lashing straps off, and slowly backed the IH Scout out of the container, parking it in front of the bungalow. Only then did she begin the task of unloading the oversized plastic storage tubs.

**. . .**

It was official: the only thing worse than packing, was unpacking.

Thirty or so minutes in and Cady hadn't even scratched the surface, still working on the first tub she had been able to lug out of her truck. It'd been a struggle for her to drag it up the stairs and into the bungalow in the first place; she may have had some muscle but she definitely wasn't built for brute strength. She'd been given a bit of a break when she'd opened up in the door way and found it to be the kitchen supplies she'd brought on Stacey's suggestion. A mix of canned vegetables and soups, along side things like powdered protein, steel cut oats and quinoa—foods that lasted longer and required her to eat less—packed with a set of plastic dishware, utensils, pots and pans.

It was nearly five o'clock when Cady finished in the kitchen, the three of four wall cabinet along the wall full of dishes and what food she'd brought with her, leaving one empty. Only one of the two bottom cabinets had been filled, all the pots and pans shoved together without any sense of organization. She'd get to that later. The steel top door refrigerator was left empty, while only a red metal kettle sat on the double stovetop, and a few random pieces on the bistro table set. Feeling somewhat accomplished, Cady picked up the empty tub easily, carrying it outside down the stairs and, without anywhere else to put it, stored it underneath the deck. In a flash she had jumped into the bed of her truck, and began the struggle of trying to move a second tub. Squatting down, her fingers turning white as she inched the tub away from the back wall in an effort to give her enough room to stand so she could push it out.

"You need some help with that?"

The question made Cady jolt forward, and her fingers slipped only to be snapped along the edge of the tub. The pain was instantaneous, and burning. It felt like half her fingernails had been removed.

"`uck!" She hissed around her throbbing fingers. Instead of kicking the tub like she wanted, Cady turned back to the tailgate where she was greeted with the sight of Owen Grady. He looked much like he had the first she'd meet him at the raptor paddock—work pants and a slightly dirty Henley—making Cady believed he'd probably just finished up his day. He had enough sense to look a bit sheepish. The pain in her fingers subsiding, she said, "Don't tell me. You're my neighbor?"

"Guilty," He answered pulling himself up into the bed of her Scout. His hand slid down the right side of her ribcage to her hip, giving her a squeeze before gently pushing her out of the way of the tub. It was all Cady could do not to turn the same shade of a tomato, easily as she watched him drag the tub she'd been struggling with easily to the end of the tailgate before jumping back down. As if answering her unsaid question, he said, "It was only entertaining to watch you struggle for five minutes. Now, where do you want them?"

_Helpful asshole?_

"By the couch," She decided after a moment of puzzled silence. Then a bit more genuinely, "Thank you."

Owen waved off her words picking up the tub like it didn't weight over twenty pounds and began walking it up the stairs, Cady tumbling off the truck bed to follow. As quickly as he dropped the first tub on the wood floor, and left to get the last one from the Scout, she had already begun to unpack it. Household items made up Tub #2: Bed sheets, blankets, bath towels, the same décor she'd dragged around since her uni days, a busted looking SX-70 camera, a box of film, and the plastic sandwich bag full of polaroid photographs.

_Analog snob._

She left the sheets and such well enough alone, but pulled out the décor pieces by the arm full until it was stretched along the floor: white Christmas lights (lord, who didn't need the lights year round?), a mosquito bed net, desk organizers she'd nabbed from her parent's, and a random collection of candles.

"God, I haven't seen one of these in forever," Owen marveled slightly while picking up the camera. So engrossed in her cataloging, Cady didn't even hear him reenter with the last tub. Looking up at him from floor, Cady watched him pop open the flat camera with a practiced ease. As he held it up to his eye, his fingers seemed to dance over the focus dial lightly.

"My mom had one," He continued offhandedly, looking down at the camera. "She always used to say it was her format. Was pretty devastated when she couldn't get the film anymore, too."

"I have some extra if you want to send it her some?" She offered just as randomly as he had given the fact about his mother. "It's not impossible to get, just difficult."

He shook his head with a sad sort of smile. "It wouldn't do her any good now, but thanks."

_Would do her any good now?_

_Oh._

_OH._

"Is there any film in here?" He asked suddenly, flipping the camera around on himself. The question threw Cady off but she didn't get to answer as the flash went off, the camera whizzing to life. In a second, a milky gray undeveloped frame was spat out into Owen's hand. "…I guess that answers that question."

Cady frowned. "I hope you know that cost $3.50."

"Worth it," Owen declared loudly. Snatching up some tape from the tub, he ripped off a small piece and stuck it to the top of the photo, then pressed it onto the wall. Already half developed Cady could just make out half of his confused face through the milky residue. "Honestly it's a classic, probably need to get it insured."

Easing herself up off the floor to stand beside him, Cady cocked her head to the side looking at the photo. It was slightly blurry, some of his head cut off and mouth slightly agape as he'd been caught mid question. It was cute, she decided, but he didn't need to know that.

"I don't know," She sighed, squinting at the photo. "Looks a bit crooked to be honest."

"It adds character," Owen huffed dropping the collapsed camera down on the couch. He left the living area and Cady's mess for the kitchen, opening the fridge only to lean up on the door to look at her. "Don't you have any food? Beer? Anything?"

"I've got some lentils," she shrugged lightly, flopping down onto the couch. She wasn't going to be unpacked for a week at this pace. "Wasn't gonna get any fresh food for a few days."

"I've got some Swordfish to grill," He offered shutting the fridge door. He moved over towards the front door then, settling his back against it. "You're welcome to wander over if you want."

"Alright."—Cady really didn't even have to think about her answer—"What time?"

"Twenty minutes, so 5:30," He said looking at his watch. He pushed the door open to slip out, repeating himself as he went. "Twenty minutes!"

The door shut with a resounding thud as Owen left, leaving Cady sinking in on her couch alone with her stuff covering the floor. She knew she should probably get around to putting sheets on her bed, and getting the pillows out of space bags but she didn't. Still slightly bewildered, and saddled with emotional whiplash from the intel she'd just collected on the elusive raptor trainer, she didn't move from the spot for another five minutes.

"Shit."

**. . .**

Twenty so odd minutes later, Cady was trekking her way down the uneven worn down path that ran between the wild overgrown grass and jungle brush that stretched between hers and Owen's. She'd gotten enough done that she'd felt moderately accomplished for the night; the bed had been unwrapped, sheets put on, pillows unpacked, and bathroom supplies somewhat organized. And by that, she had found her toothpaste and toothbrush. Her clothes were still in their tub, which was something Cady knew she'd been spending the new few days working on. After a five-minute walk she finally reached the strange bungalow/Airstream hybrid, only to find Owen working on a small grill with his back to her. And while Cady didn't say a word to announce her arrival, it apparently hadn't mattered because he seemed to already know she was there.

"Fish is about done," He began without looking at her. "If you want a beer, there's some in the cooler there by the table."

"How do you do that?" Cady muttered while taking a beer from the cooler. Using the opener that was attached to some string she popped the cap off easily, taking a swig. It may have tasted like shit, but it was so cold it didn't matter to her.

"Do what?"

"Know someone's there without looking?" She clarified taking a seat at the picnic table. "Sneak up on people without making a sound?"

"SEAL training," Owen answered easily, his tone that suggested it was Top Secret. With a quick flip of a switch he turned the grill off, then grabbed at the plates on the table to load each with a cut of fish and vegetables he'd cooked along side it. Handing Cady hers, he snagged himself a beer then sat himself across from her, sporting a bit of a grin. "This time you were shuffling your feet. I think half the animals on the island could hear you."

Cady made a face. "Thanks Owen, that's what every girl wants to hear."

He shrugged, his grin turning more into an easy going smile as he raised his beer bottle up, making a motion of toast. Sighing, Cady followed suit, holding her bottle up without lifting her elbow off the table.

"To neither of us getting eaten?"

_Because let's be real, that's one ending for both of us waiting in the wings._

"Or," Owen added, "loosing a limb."

_That's fair too._

The bottles _clinked_ together lightly, with each of them taking a deep gulp of the beer. There was no more conversation, both much more concerned with devouring the food in front of them than making small talk at the moment. The food was delicious, though really anything would be at that point because Cady was starving and was inhaling it. Owen really wasn't sure she could taste it, but he took it as a compliment all the same. After a few minutes, Cady slowed down her pace, taking in the ambience of Owen's set up. It was nice, sitting under some tree that she couldn't name in the late afternoon with a breeze. She could almost taste the sea salt in the air. It was more than nice really, might as well have been paradise or a very well planned out date. But considering whom was sitting across from her, and how there were…concerns pressing in the back of her mind, ones that Cady couldn't help but vocalize, slightly damped the occasion.

"Does it bother you at all how they refer to the animals as assets, and project number?"

"You met Wu today, didn't you?" Owen guessed after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. At her nod, he continued, "The techs and the scientists in the lab, they don't get it. And why should they? For them, every one of the animals here are just something they concocted in a test tube. They can't make that jump that despite the fact they may have created it, those animals are still wild animals."

"Right?!" Cady complained with a small bit of vindication. Her fork dropped noisily onto her plate as she began to motion with her hands. "God, and the control obsession. You know that ACU sent blueprints to us about muzzles and fuckin' electric collars? As soon as the pack is big enough they're gonna have to wear them."

"They'll grow with them?"

She nodded, her ponytail bobbing along.

"The links will be added in. They're interlocking," Cady demonstrated with her hands, a knuckle sliding effortlessly in the space between two curled fingers. "I don't know if Wu and Claire are aware the failure rate of what they're asking me to do is at a steady 90%."

"And why's that?" Owen asked after finishing his two pieces of Swordfish. In comparison, Cady had just eaten over half of hers, choosing instead to eat the vegetable mix.

"Because it's failed before, pattern suggests it will continue to do so." Cady shoulders jerked lightly as she popped the last few pieces of grilled broccoli before laying her napkin over the plate. She was more than full.

"Someone's tried to train Dire Wolves before?"

"I'm glad to see you finally figured it out," she snickered then sobering. "But no. In Apartheid South Africa, there was attempt by the militarized police force to use wolves as working animals. They barely grasped simply commands, and it was an utter disaster."

"If it makes you feel any better, the last time they bred raptors they ate people," Owen told her once he finished clearing his plate. "Most of the time I think they're just happy they found someone willing to work with them, and who can keep them caged."

Cady nodded, taking a small sip of her beer letting the conversation fall into a lull. It felt somewhat cathartic to get out everything that had begun gnawing at her after the waking. All the doubts, and the sheer pressure of what they were undertaking on weighing her down like an anchor. Stacey, despite having a PhD, didn't understand what working with real live animals was like. All she saw was the wonder, not the teeth.

"What was it like for you," Owen questioned unexpectedly. His eyes were trained on the very well displayed scar on her right side where her shoulder and neck met. "After the attack? They killed it, I know, but still. The articles only say so much."

_So much for the great night._

The question caught Cady off guard, and she couldn't help the sneer that came to her face. Her beer was nearly slammed onto the top of the table when she put it down. Everyone had wanted to know everything about it when it happened: the reporters, the counselors, and her parents. Like a scab they couldn't leave well enough alone, they picked and picked.

"How was your reintroduction to civilian life?" Cady snapped.

It was a low blow, she realized it the moment she said it, but Owen rose to the occasion.

"It's the hardest thing they never prepare you for," He admitted. "From going from such a high adrenalin, trying to dodge bullets existence to having your biggest worry being what brand of cereal you're going to buy. Only they don't tell that the experience of combat doesn't go away, and suddenly you're on the ground in the middle of a shopping center parking lot looking for cover because a car backfired. Everything that comes after is nothing more than a footnote."

"Is that why you took the job here? Any sense of danger is better than no danger?"

"Partly," He said offering no more explanation. He took a sip of his beer, then asked, "So, what about you?"

_Fair is fair._

"They say sometimes when you lose a limb you can still feel it. That's what it was like," she began stiffly. She felt so exposed, like a live wire or like a patient undergoing open-heart surgery. "Phantom Limb, they call it. I had raised Moto from a cub, he'd been born outside the pack, abandoned…and that was the mistake. Falling into the trap that a wild animal isn't simply because you fed it from the bottle. The worst was all the blood, not the pain, and how the snow looked like some goddamn Jackson Pollack painting. The first shot incapacitated him, and the second put him down. I don't remember much more than that, if you want to know, but I can still hear the two shots perfectly."

It was more than she had told anyone else, and still not much at all but Owen's curiosity seemed sated. He just nodded, as if she'd past some great test, and drank his beer, an action Cady followed suit in. Neither of them spoke after that, though the silence wasn't uncomfortable. Sighing, she turned to sit sideways on the bench to look out at the water and to just survey the area, beer bottle still in hand. Out the corner of her eye, she watched Owen collect their dishes—halting her movement to get up and help with a shake of the head—and disappeared inside his bungalow. Taking in the area without Owen's eyes on her was much easier. He had a much nicer view than she did, and a deck too, not that either of those things mattered. In a few minutes Owen returned, a bottle of some sort of soda as he settled back onto the bench, leaning back on the table.

"Who lives in the other three bungalows?"

Caught a bit off guard at her question, he turned sideways at his waist to look at her.

"The two head Gallimimus trainers, Todd and Sasha, live in One and Two. The Third…" His face crunching up in the most adorable way imaginable as he thought on it. "The Third's been empty for about a year after the Triceratops trainer moved into a condo with his fiancé. Pretty sure Todd and Sasha use it for storage."

Cady nodded, absorbing the information like a sponge and filed it away for later. She barely tasted the beer as she downed the rest of her drink, putting the empty bottle down on the table. The need to apologize suddenly becoming too much to ignore.

"I shouldn't have snapped," the apology tumbling off her tongue easily. She didn't look at him though, her eyes trained on the fading sun in the horizon. "Afterwards everyone wanted to know, and it didn't matter what I said. They had already decided."

"'Though you fee them, they always looks towards the forest,'" Owen quoted a bit wirily. Despite how many times she'd heard the proverb in respect to wolves, Cady had the feeling he was talking about much more than just that. "I shouldn't have asked, don't worry about it, She-Wolf. They've got them in the 48-hour health hold, right?"

"Yeah. Which makes sense, you know, get all their shots and such," Cady reasoned more to herself than anyone else, not even bothering with addressing the nickname. She kind of liked it, not that she'd let him know that. Sparing a look over at Owen, she saw him sitting just like her then, sideways on the bench slightly hunched his soda before him. "I have to meet ACU and the head of InGen Security at the paddock early tomorrow, make sure everything is up to snuff. I probably should go, try to get a few more things unpacked and put away."

Cady wasn't completely sure but at her words Owen's back seemed to stiffen slightly, and he appeared to sit just a bit straighter. He was looking at her then, his face displaying more of a mask than a real emotion as he watched her stand from the table.

"Thanks, you know, for feeding me. And Helping with the tubs. I'd probably still be doing that if you hadn't got bored of watching me struggle."

"It's no big deal. What are neighbors for, Wolf Girl?" He asked rhetorically with a bit of a shrug, dismissing her thanks. He seemed to do that a lot when it came to her, Owen was finding. Along with other out of character things, like cooking her dinner. When did Owen Grady start cooking dinner for people beside himself?

Shaking her head a bit and chuckling, Cady gave a small wave then began her short walk back to her bungalow. She'd need a shower once she got back, the hair at the base of her neck sticking with sweat. Thankfully there was just enough light she didn't feel like she'd stumble in a hole and break an ankle.

"Starc—Cady!" The shout caused her turn, Owen standing by the picnic table instead of sitting. Seeing he had her attention, the raptor trainer continued, "The animals we work with are dangerous, but sometimes it's the people too."

Not knowing what else to do, Cady nodded.

_Nothing like an ominous warning to sleep perfectly too._

**.**

**.**

**.**

"The paddock, like all others deemed High Risk, has 24/7 monitoring in both park Control and the ACU central," ACU Commander Katashi Hamada explained. "Every entry into the secure areas requiring a PIN-code is record, logged, and time stamped. No one without proper clearance or escort may enter the premises without showing up in the records."

Standing half awake and sweltering under the muggy morning sun was Cady, trying desperately to swallow back a yawn. Beside her was Stacey, a bit more alert and chipper thanks to the coffee mug in her hand, who nodded along to each part of Hamada's explanation of the security measures. They'd been at it for nearly two hours, selecting the ACU crews, reading the security agreements, setting ups PIN-codes, the lot. She's nearly over slept for the meeting, barely having enough time to spare to change into presentable clothes before speeding over in her Scout. Having stayed up until midnight trying to distract herself from Owen's words— _sometimes it's people too_ , what did that even mean?—putting things away and trying to find her old notebook from her undergad. The only thing she had truly managed to finish was placing up her photos along the living room wall; Cady hadn't had the heart to take down Owen's impromptu self-portrait, leaving it at the center of it all.

At least she'd shown up. It was 10:45 and InGen's Security head was nowhere to be found

Punching in a four-digit security code, Hamada led them into the inner lab area of the paddock. It was all steel and glass, with two desks seat off to the side. A large scale was against the far wall on the floor, along with some adjusted muzzles that looked eerily similar to the ones in the raptor paddock. Standing around the central table of the room that held a large metal case that he opened to reveal the Collars, which only a few weeks ago had been schematics. Picking one up, he passed it to Stacey then grabbed another one, handing it off to Cady.

Lighter than either of the women suspected, the thermoplastic was smooth on the inside around the few metal barbs that stuck out, and textured on the outside. A few moments of tinkering on Stacey's part had the collar popping apart, as if she meant to expand it, before locking it back together with a soft _pop_.

"Since we're dealing with a new asset, and our developers had no information to go on beyond Dr. Grant's research," Hamada began shooting said doctor a look, "The collars have the ability to deliver anywhere from 6 to 26 volts, and they're controlled by wrist remote."

"That's higher than the ACU Taser Rifle," Cady stated looking up from the collar. "Why so much?"

"We weren't sure what would require to be take down the animal should the need arise."

All three heads turned towards the door, Hamada standing straighter at the sight of the man making his way in. Slightly overweight with the beginning of salt and pepper hair and a goatee, he was dressed in a plain khaki colored shirt and black pants.

"Dr. Grant, Miss Starc," Hamada introduced, "this is head of InGen Security, Vic Hoskins."

"Hamada, glad you could get the show started without me," Hoskins commented giving his commander a slap on the back. Turning to Cady first, he shook her hand quickly before moving onto Stacey, introducing himself. "Vic Hoskins, it's _wonderful_ to finally meet the girls in charge of this program. We weren't sure we're ever gonna get it off the ground to be honest."

_Girls? What is this, 1968 the year of Virginia Slims' 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby'?_

If Stacey's facial expression said anything to Cady, it was that she was thinking along the same lines as well. She dropped Hoskins' hand as quick as she respectively could, holding off the urge to wipe her palm on the thigh. Instead, she forced herself to smile, hoping it didn't come off as the grimace it felt like.

"We're just happy to get the chance, Mister Hoskins," Stacey commented after putting the collar back in the case. "There were four that made it out of the initial six, they're just now in the mist of the Health Hold."

"Call me Vic," He requested. Beside him, Cady handed over her collar to Hamada. After placing it back in the box and locking, the man seemed to Ghost from the room without a word. "Now, you're the Behavioral Researcher on this project, am I right? And you, Starc, you're the trainer?"

Both of the women shot a look to one another before nodding. He wasn't really wrong. Stacey was the Brains, Cady the Brawns.

"Tell me, what kind of growth rate are we looking at here? Intelligence level?"

"I can't, not with any certainty." Stacey admitted. "We're really going off guess work, but _**I**_ believe we're looking at twice the rate of a regular Gray Wolf. As for their intelligence, the Dire Wolf had a smaller brain case than a modern Gray Wolf, suggesting it may have not been as intelligent as other Pleistoscene Canis. But like I said, we just won't know until we do the Capacity Tests in a two or three months."

Hoskins shook his head. "Scientists, you can never just say 'I Don't Know,' can you?"

Stacey's cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the very apparent mocking.

"No, what's she's saying is that it's possible," Cady interrupted, her tone full of venom. Her hands were gripping the side of the table island so tightly her knuckles were white. "But it's not like a Velociraptor or a T-Rex is it? Nobody's ever bothered to bring back the largest wolf in existence before. Everything we're planning to do here is either going to be a failure or a success all based off theory and guess work."

"Is that what you think?" Hoskins asked, turning his attention towards the brunette. "It could be a failure?"

Cady shrugged, crossing her arms. "People have tried for years to just train normal wolves. Asking us to train Dire Wolves just adds a whole other layer of complications to an already complex issue. I'm not delusional, I know the chances of success."

"I guess you would be, wouldn't you?" Vic mused, rubbing his chin as he stared her down. He was taller than her by a few inches, something that had already begun to infuriate Cady. Not only was he looking down at her and her experience, but then he stood there and was physically doing it. "I hope you know there's a lot riding on _Fenrir_ , Miss Starc. It would be in your best interest to make sure there isn't an incident here like there was in Washington State."

A sound of a cell phone ringing—presumably Hoskins' since Cady hadn't bought her own and Stacey wasn't making a move to answer hers—cut through the tense atmosphere of the lab. He pulled it out without taking his eyes off her, and decided to get another few words in before answering it.

"Just remember, InGen Security prides itself on providing the safest conditions for guests and employees, girls. If you ever need something, feel free to give Hamada or myself a call."

_Pretty sure I understand what Owen meant now._

Shooting a smile that was more teeth than anything he else he turned away from them. He was already talking into the phone as he exited the lab, the door buzzing to note its opening, not giving the two women any more attention as he stepped out. After the door slammed shut, neither Stacey nor Cady saying anything for a moment as they leaned on the island table.

"So," Stacey drawled nonchalantly after a minute, "I think you just made us our first enemy."

_At least we're in good company._

"The guy's an asshole," She didn't bother mincing words. "Did you hear him calling us girls?"

"Yes, I was present for that slight. You don't have to defend me I'm perfectly capable myself."

"I'll remember that for next time, but until then my attitude was completely justifiable," Cady frowned, ignoring the slight. "He's just a glorified hired gun, he doesn't know anything about Dire Wolves, so why question you like you had no idea?"

Seeing Stacey about to open her mouth, Cady continued, "And okay, you don't really know but you know. You've worked your whole life on them and their skeletons so you know them better than anyone here. And me? I know wolves. I know enough to know that our chances of success aren't very high so of course I'm going to be realistic."

Stacey shook her head.

"That's all well in good, but maybe you shouldn't express your distain so clearly next time," she suggested. "If it makes you feel better, I don't think you're the only one who doesn't like the man."

"Tell me about," Cady said while wandering over to the desks. The drawers were empty, save for a few pieces of blank paper, dried up pens, and empty folders. Nothing finding anything interesting, she plopped into one of the leather office chair. "I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm petty sure Owen doesn't like him either."

Stacey frowned. "When have you spoken to Grady?"

"He's my neighbor," She revealed offhandedly raising the chair up. Once it was at its full height, she began to let it go down at random intervals. Start, stop, start, stop. "Had dinner with him last night after he did some heavy lifting for me. You know, while the Wizard was romancing you."

"Romantic relationships with other employees are strictly forbidden—"

_God, she sounds like an Employment Manuel._

"Only if they work directly together," Cady pointed out as the seat dropped all the way. The resounding thud echoed in the lab. "You know that, otherwise you wouldn't be all Chatty Cathy with your Control tech."

"He has a name you know? It's three syllables. Say it with me, _Low-er-y_."

"How do I know he's even real?" She questioned suddenly jumping out of the office chair. In effort to distract from the far more serious Hoskins situation, she did the only thing she could think of: poke fun. Walking up to Stacey she grabbed her narrow shoulders, giving her a bit of a shake, Cady's eyes comically wide. "Maybe he's like North Dakota, if I don't see it how can I really believe it exists?"

Her attempt at distraction worked, because Stacey laughed softly removing Cady's hands from her shoulders. But instead of letting the doctor go completely, she just threw an arm over Stacey's shoulders and began leading her out of the lab back into the hot Costa Rican sun. There were fewer people milling around now that ACU and InGen Security were gone, only a few workers left doing the finishing cosmetic touches on the paddock. Just slightly blinded by the sun, Cady let her arm slide off Stacey's should to pull her sunglasses down from her head. Off in the distance, Cady could just make out Barry yelling at some feeder, motioning with his hands wildly and hear Owen's girls shrieking.

"Let's go get some food," Stacey suggested as they walked towards Cady's Scout. "You drive, I'll show you the canteen."

"Alright," Cady nodded in approval unlocking the truck. "We'll discuss the pack dynamics of Dire Wolves."

"That's more of a two date threshold topic," she teased dryly crawling into the cab. "But for you I'll make an exception."

* * *

 **Author Note** : I'll be honest, I like probably 75% of this chapter but I feel like it sets a lot of the ground work. The more I write the more I find my Owen becoming slightly more serious with Cady, and they discussed some heavy topics at dinner shines more light on them both. I also hate Vic, the best personification of the military industrial complex even seen on screen and I loathe him.


End file.
